Choices We Made
by Exfinity
Summary: After a long trek through the freezing climate of Michigan, Clementine and Kenny finally arrive at the monstrous walled sanctuary known as Wellington. Yet, they're denied entry. After all they've lost, they leave, in search of refuge in places long forgotten. Follow along as the pair travel through locations of the past, meet new allies and most of all, survive.
1. Chapter 1

"I cant believe this! How could they seriously turn down 2 kids, just cause of a bit of a "space problem"?!" The Floridan man, Kenny, gruffly ranted as he walked away from the gigantic walls of Wellington. Clementine followed behind the enraged man, carrying the sleeping form of AJ.

"Kenny, keep your voice down. You'll attract walkers. Not to mention, you could wake AJ, which would attract more walkers!" Clementine snapped, soothing the stirring child.

"Sorry, darlin'. I just can't believe they turned us down. All that walking, everyone we lost, was for nothing!" Kenny grumbled.

"I'm sure they probably had a space problem. You would too if you announced to the survivors of a zombie apocalypse that you had a safe haven…" Clementine muttered, quickening her pace to catch up to the fuming man.

"Well, what now? We're almost out of food, we have no more meds, we're down to the last clip of ammo, and we're stuck in fucking Ohio!" Kenny shouted once again, his voice lower than last time.

"We could always head back to Howe's…" Clementine mumbled, her voice barely audible.

"Howe's?! That hellhole?! Clem, why in the hell would you ever want to go back there?!" Kenny questioned, turning towards the 10-year-old.

"It had walls, electricity! For god's sakes Kenny, think rationally for a second. There could be a bit of food, meds, ammo, even things for AJ there! The walkers will have dissipated by now, and we could take the store back!" Clementine shouted, as she bumped past the older man.

"Who's to say there isn't already another group there?! What if approach them and they gun me down, and do god knows what to you and AJ?!" Kenny growled, running after the child.

"We'll never know if we don't go back!" Clementine snapped back. She continued walking, before feeling a strong arm grab her on the shoulder and halt her.

"I know what you mean, and I'm sorry for snapping, but I just don't trust it. You know I'd die for you two, but I don't want my death to be in vain, you know what I mean?" Kenny explained, kneeling in front of Clementine.

"I understand Kenny. Its just… you can be so stubborn sometimes." Clementine complained, looking Kenny in the eyes.

"And that's one of my major flaws. Add it to the list" Kenny chuckled, before turning away from the 2 children.

"Alright, lets get to Howe's then"

* * *

"What about this place?"

"I don't know, Whole lotta walkers around it"

"Well yeah, but the more walkers, the more supplies"

"True"

"And, it's a hardware store. There's bound to be some pesticides and all that left I can use here"

"Fine, lets clear it out"

* * *

"Are we there yet?" Clementine giggled, turning towards Kenny.

"Clementine, darlin', I love ya and all, but for the love of god don't start that shit with me" Kenny laughed as the trio trekked through the woods. It had been three days since they departed Wellington, and the journey back was almost as hard as the trip there. Clementine went to ask, 'are we there yet' again, when a familiar sight came into view.

"Kenny, look! Parkers Run!" Clementine beamed, picking up her pace.

"Finally, a stroke of luck for once" Kenny mumbled, following the child. The camp itself was empty, but provided some shelter from the night air.

"Well, I guess we can hole up here for the night before we head out towards Howe's. Should be a couple miles from here" Kenny yawned, entering one of the tents. Clementine followed suite, sitting at the back of the tent.

"You two get some sleep, ill keep watch" Kenny motioned towards two sleeping bags in the middle of the tent.

"You need sleep too Kenny. We can just tie the flap shut before we go to sleep" Clementine explained, slipping under the covers of the sleeping bag.

"See? This is why I keep ya around. Those kinda things, I don't normally think about" Kenny chuckled, tying a piece of the tent around the pole.

"Alright Clem, get some rest. We got a long trek ahead of us tomorrow…"

* * *

"Well, that took longer than expected" Kris chuckled, wiping his bloodied hands down his apron.

"You got that right, I don't even know how so many got in" Jake mumbled, pulling a blunt screwdriver from a walker's skull.

"The fortifications on this place are still pretty strong. We reinforce them, we can hole up here for a bit" Kris smiled, inspecting the interior of the store.

"That's true. Ill go see what I can do about the loading bay door, see if I can shut it. Either that or we board off the whole bay…" Jake pointed out, opening the door to the bay.

"I'll give you a hand" Kris offered, following after his friend. The two entered the loading bay, when their jaws dropped and they looked in horror at the bloodied corpse before them. The corpse was fresh, and the skull had been completely caved in.

"Jesus fucking Christ, what happened to him?!" Kris shouted, bile filling his throat.

"I don't know, but whatever happened, he got fucked up" Jake joked, before turning and vomiting on the ground.

"You'd think we'd be used to this shit, but apparently not" Kris noted, before approaching the large shutters of the loading bay. He inspected the doors before noticing the tracks were bent out of shape and the door had bangs and dings in it.

"The doors fucked. Someone mustve backed into it. Its not going anywhere" Kris groaned, before walking out of the bay and into the store.

"Well, we'll get as much as we can out of there, and board off the bay I guess" Jake explained, closing the door.

"Yeah, good idea" Kris mumbled

* * *

The shrill sound of crying woke Clementine in an instant, as she coddled the infant between the two of them.

"Shhh, AJ. Its ok, shhh" Clementine soothed, rubbing the babies head.

"AJ upset again?" Kenny mumbled from beside the pair.

"Yeah, he's probably hungry" Clementine yawned, as she donned her treasured heirloom.

"Welp, might as well get up and get going, right?" Kenny sighed, as he sat up and stretched.

"Do we have any formula left?" Clementine asked, still trying to calm the infant down.

"Nope, used the last of it before bed. We're fresh out" Kenny groaned, standing up.

"Well, then we better get a move on. Let's hope there's still formula at Howe's" Clementine sighed, exiting the cramped tent. She stretched her legs before turning to Kenny, nodding. The two then departed the camp, with Kenny carrying AJ.

"Hey Kenny? We should check out the war museum nearby. We might be able to find some food or water.

"Sounds good. Lets head out then" Kenny nodded, leading the way.

* * *

Hours had passed before the war museum came into sight. Kenny sighed in relief, being glad they didn't get lost. Clementine looted the museum while Kenny watched AJ. Before they left, they headed through the museum into the parking lot. They looted a few vehicles, finding little to nothing of use.

"Hold on a second Kenny" Clementine stopped, and turned towards a lone motorcycle sitting in the parking lot of the war museum.

"What's up?" Kenny asked, turning around.

"I wanna check out that bike. I've never ridden one, even if it doesn't work" Clementine explained,

"Fair enough. Go ahead kiddo" Kenny nodded, leaning against a car. Clementine grinned and thanked the man before running to the black steed. She inspected the full bike, before climbing onto it. To her, the bike looked monstrous. She placed both hands on the handlebars, and pretended she was riding on it. She did this for a few moments before noticing the keys in the ignition. She thought for a moment before shrugging

"Might as well" Clementine figured, before clutching the key and turning it. A low spluttering was heard before it turned into a full rev. The sudden start startled Clementine, but she quickly regained her composure, looking extremely giddy.

"Holy crap… Kenny, the bike works!" Clementine shouted to the man in excitement. Kenny's head snapped towards Clementine before his grin spread so far, Clem thought his face would burst.

"Holy shit, it actually works?!" Kenny exclaimed, unable to hide his excitement. Clementine nodded furiously, before turning towards the bike again. She checked the fuel gauge, seeing it still had half a tank of gas. She also noticed 2 bags hanging off the back of the bike. In one was 2 black helmets, while the other had a red gas can and a tarp in it.

"This is an awesome find! We can make Howe's in an hour or 2!" Kenny laughed excitedly, handing AJ to Clementine. Clementine scooted back far enough for Kenny to sit in the front, before grabbing the two helmets and handing one to Kenny. She then took off her hat and sat it back in the bags before donning the helmet. Kenny looked back to the child, who gave him a thumbs up. He took a hold of the handle bars, revved the engine a few times, before the bike shot off. Clementine felt as though she was about to fall off, but kept a tight grip on Kenny and AJ. The wind whipped around them as they shot off from the museum, and drove onwards towards Howe's Hardware.

* * *

 ***A.N. Apologies for all the random breaks in the story. Since there's 2 different things happening at once, with Kenny and Clementine, and Kris and Jake, I felt as though a few cuts was necessary. Once the 2 groups collide, since they're both gonna try to hole up at Howe's, there may be less random cutting and chopping.**

 **Cya's,  
** **Exfinity**


	2. Chapter 2

"Aside from the loading bay, I'd say we're done" Jake praised, throwing a dented hammer onto the ground and taking a swig from a bottle of water next to him.

"I hear ya. This place is pretty defendable. Though one thing does confuse me" Kris explained, motioning towards the outdoor area covered in beds. "Like, why would anyone sleep out there, especially in this shit-storm."

"I don't know. Either way, it doesn't matter now. What's say we get some food?" Jake asked, passing the half empty bottle to Kris.

"Yeah, lets do that. I'm starving" Kris chuckled, following his friend. They entered the makeshift kitchen, and grabbed a can of beans each out of one of the crates.

"To a new life, in this lucky find of a home" Jake laughed, scooping the beans out of the can.

"Ill eat to that" Kris laughed back. The two cracked jokes and ate their beans until both their cans were empty. They threw the cans into another crate full of more empty cans. They stood up, and Kris grabbed a notepad and pen from his pack, earning a sceptical look from Jake.

"What's that for?" He asked, yawning slightly.

"I'm gonna take inventory, see what we have here. Why don't you go take a nap, you look like you need it" Kris pointed out, motioning towards the door.

"Think I might listen to you for once" Jake yawned, chuckling. He left quickly, leaving Kris to deal with the monstrous amount of food before him.

"This is gonna take a while…" Kris groaned.

* * *

After an hour of counting cans Kris had enough. He slammed the notepad down on the desk and stormed out of the kitchen.

"Fuck this. Jake can finish counting it" Kris grumbled to himself. Looking around, he saw nothing of real interest in the main store. He spotted the armoury and decided to inspect inside.

"I might grab my rifle and do some practice" Kris thought to himself, grabbing a large supressed rifle off the table. He then grabbed three extra magazines and walked along the store until he arrived at the stairs to the roof. Once he was able to climb to the roof, he decided on one high spot to practice from. There were a small number of walkers stumbling around the store. Placing the rifle on his shoulder, Kris took aim at two standing away from the rest. With a swift pull of the trigger, Kris took down the first walker, before repriming and taking down the second. Once both were down, he took aim at another group of walkers, around 4, that were standing away from the store. One pull of the trigger sent 2 walkers tumbling down to the ground, and another 2 to finish the remaining walkers. Satisfied, Kris holstered the rifle and moved off the high perch, when he noticed something on a highway in the distance.

"What the fuck is that?" Kris squinted to see the object, until he realised it was a motor bike, and it was heading right for the store.

"Shit, Its heading this way. I have to wake Jake up…" Kris rushed down the stairs, dropping the spare magazines on the way. He sprinted through the store, until he eventually found the dorms. Inside, he found Jake peacefully asleep on one of the bigger bunks.

"Jake! Wake up, someone's coming!" Kris shouted, shaking his friend in a vain attempt to wake him up. When this didn't work, Kris grabbed a pillow and slammed it down into Jake's face, jolting the other man awake.

"JESUS! WHAT THE FUCK DUDE?!" Jake roared, clutching his chest.

"Someone's coming, dipshit. I was trying to wake you up!" Kris explained, watching Jake's expression change from one of anger to one of shock.

"Wait, someone's coming here?" Jake stuttered, a look of pure horror plastered on his face.

"Yeah, that's why I'm saying get the fuck up, grab a rifle or something, and we'll ambush them when they come here" Kris spoke simply, as though it was second nature. Jake nodded, and sprang out of the bed and towards the door. The pair ran as fast as possible to the armoury, grabbing a handgun each and rushing towards one of the nearby windows to watch for the incoming threat.

* * *

"Look Kenny! Howe's is just up ahead!" Clementine exclaimed, whooping in joy.

"Yeah Yeah, I see it." Kenny grinned, speeding the bike up. The bike accelerated faster, before spluttering and stopping.

"What happened?" Clementine asked, distressed.

"Bike's out of gas. We're walking the rest of the way" Kenny stated, grabbing what little they had left and walking away from the now deceased bike and walking towards a large clearing near Howe's.

Outside, they could see some improvements had been made.

"Alright kiddo, stay behind me. We'll go slowly, clear any walkers we find." Kenny explained, grabbing a knife out of a small sheath on his hip.

"I don't know Kenny. This place seems pretty clear. Maybe someone's already been here?" Clementine noticed cautiously, hiding behind a shrub next to Kenny.

"Well, I'm sure they left us something…" Kenny nodded, before moving away from the bush towards the store. They snuck silently until they reached the side of the store, where Kenny noticed most of the doors were barred.

"Shit, they're locked up tight. Clem, hand me AJ and see if you can find us a way in" Kenny ordered, holding his arm out. Clementine quickly handed the infant to Kenny before pulling out her prized handgun and sneaking around the store. She checked the entirety of the outside, but couldn't find a way in. Even the pen was locked.

"There's nothing, Kenny. Not a single way in!" Clementine shouted in frustration, kicking a dead walker in the head.

"Calm down darlin'. There's gotta be a way in" Kenny pointed out, walking towards the fuming child. He searched around near the front of the store, before noticing one of the trucks crashed against a wall.

"Hey Clem, I think I found a way in" Kenny smiled, running to the totalled vehicle.

"Good idea Kenny, we can drive into the store" Clementine replied sarcastically.

"Don't be giving me lip Clementine, I'm serious. We can climb on top of the truck and drop into the store, just like how me and Lee used to do it in Macon" Kenny explained, using his free arm to pull himself up towards the roof of the building. Once high enough, Kenny gently placed AJ on the ledge, before pulling himself up and dangling an arm off.

"C'mon Clementine, your turn" Kenny said quickly, waving his arm to get the girls attention.

"Fine" Clementine muttered, grinning to herself. She climbed atop the cabin of the truck, then on top of the trailer, before noticing she wouldn't be tall enough to grab Kenny's hand.

"It's too high, I can't reach!" Clementine shouted, looking around for anything of use.

"Remember what Molly used to do! Run at the wall, push yourself up and ill grab your arm!" Kenny reminded her, motioning to the brick wall. The thought of doing what used to mesmerise her gave her a new rush of energy.

"You got it!" Clementine grinned. She took a few steps back, far enough for her to have a running start. She then bolted towards the wall, and caught her foot on the wall. She pushed up from the wall and grabbed Kenny's outstretched hand. Once Kenny had a good grip on Clementine, he pulled her over the edge and onto the roof.

"Nice one Clem. We find you an ice pick and dye yer' hair blonde, you could be the next Molly" Kenny laughed, patting the child on the back.

"Thanks Kenny!" Clementine beamed, before grabbing AJ off the ground and sneaking towards the nearest door.

"Alright, keep your voice down in here. Don't want anyone getting the jump on us…" Kenny whispered, pulling the door open and leading the girl inside. They descended the stairs, which led to the shop floor. The interior of the store was relatively dark, with none of the overhead lights being on.

"Looks like no-one's here" Kenny noticed, receiving only a nod from Clementine.

"C'mon. We'll go find the dorms and you can take a nap while I check this place out" Kenny suggested, scanning the room.

"There!" Kenny pointed out, jogging over to the door. He creaked the door open, and led Clementine inside, before shutting the two of them inside.

"Well, it definitely looks safe for now" Kenny yawned. He turned to lock the door, while Clementine wandered to one of the cots.

"There, doors locked" Kenny yawned once again, moving towards one of the beds. Before he even made it 2 steps from the door, the familiar sound of a gun being cocked echoed through the room, followed by an unknown voice.

"Y'know, its rude to invite yourself into someone else's home…"

 ***A.N. And that's chapter 2! OOO, DRAMA, am I right? I wonder who the "mysterious" voice is :3**

 **I was discussing some plans for this story with my younger sister, who I'm also adding a character for, and we came up with a pretty good storyline for now.**

 **For reference as well, Kris is my OC, Jake is a random character I came up with.**

 **Anyways, I'll see you next chapter.**

 **Enjoy life~,**

 **Exfinity**


	3. Chapter 3

Sweat dripped down Kenny's forehead as he stood completely still, trying not to piss off the person behind him.

"Now look, there ain't no need for hostilities. I'm sure we can figure this out civilly…" Kenny gulped, slowly turning around.

"There isn't anything to "figure out". You're going to turn around and leave, or you'll earn yourself a nice shiny bullet in the brain" The younger man snapped, the gun in his hand not moving even for a second.

"I get it, I'm impeding on your property, but you gotta understand, I lost a lot just to get here" Kenny tried to explain, yet his pleas fell on deaf ears.

"I don't care if you're fucking group got torn apart by biters, you still can't just waltz in here" The young man growled, before motioning behind him. Another man appeared from behind a stack of crates, wielding a similar weapon to his companion.

"So, here's how it's going to work. You are going to grab your shit, I'm going to escort you out, and you're never going to come back, y'hear?" The first man explained, having calmed down.

"I'm afraid I can't go back out there. I've lost too many people to those damn things, and I ain't losing my own life to them as well" Kenny explained, hoping the two before him bought his bluff. As it turns out, they didn't.

"Welp, then it looks like more bloods going to be spilled here" The second man chuckled, aiming his gun towards Kenny's head. Kenny knew he was a goner, he just hoped Clem would make it out of here. Unfortunately, Clementine doesn't think as logically as Kenny, as she jumped out of her hiding space, and running towards her guardian.

"Wait! Please, don't kill Kenny! W-We'll leave, just don't kill him!" Clementine cried, hugging Kenny's waist with tears beginning to stream down her face.

"Hold on, you got a kid?!" The first man exclaimed, dumbfounded about seeing anyone so young anymore.

"Two, actually. One of them is a fucking infant. THAT, is why we're in here. I'm trying to keep these two safe, and I don't know about you, but I think Howes is pretty damn safe." Kenny muttered, throwing his arm around the younger girl, trying to calm her down.

The two men looked at each other, trying to read the others face.

"Stay here. We'll be back" The first man sighed, opening the door to the dorms and exiting, with the latter following. Kenny and Clementine stared at each other for a few moments, unsure of what was happening.

* * *

"We can't just fucking kick them out! Whatshisname – Kenny, he has 2 kids for crying out loud!" Jake exclaimed, trying to reason with his long-time friend.

"I get that, and I don't want to kick them out, but the guy seems like someone who would hold a grudge. I don't want to be living under the same roof as someone who plans to slit our necks while we sleep" Kris explained lowly, a tinge of guilt evident in his voice. He had never been one to be merciless, in fact, he always saw himself as a big guy with a big heart. Yet, he still wasn't convinced.

"Put them on a probationary basis! We put them to work around the store, and see if we can properly trust them" Jake reasoned, trying desperately to convince Kris to let the new faces stay. It had been so long since they had seen anyone still surviving, especially with 2 children. Kris rubbed his temples in frustration. He so desperately wanted to believe his friend, but his gut kept screaming bad news. He was torn between letting Kenny and his kids stay, or sending them away. He stood there for a few moments contemplating the decision before finally caving in.

"Fine, they can stay. But we're keeping a close eye on them, got it?" Kris sighed, a smirk forming on his normally neutral face. Jake's eyes lit up like a Christmas Tree, and he thanked his friend excitedly.

"You wont regret this!" Jake grinned, trying hard, and failing, at holding in his excitement. Kris chuckled at his behaviour, but a small seed of doubt was firmly planted in the back of his mind. But, he decided to ignore it for the time being.

* * *

Kris lead the way back into the room, and saw the irritated face of Kenny in front of him.

"Well? You decided to kick us out yet?" The older man grumbled, obviously furious. Kris tried his hardest not to lash out at him, which in the end worked.

"Well, we talked it out. We're letting you stay for now, just don't make me regret this. If either of you try anything, you're straight out of here. Sound fair?" Kris explained, keeping a neutral face. The young girl wore a shocked look for a few moments, processing this information, before it changed to one of happiness and relief.

"Thank you so much! I promise, we'll be good and not cause any trouble. You have my word!" The young girl chirped, hugging Kris tightly. The young man was taken aback at first, but quickly settled down and hugged the child.

"Well, since we're livin' under the same roof now, might be useful for us to know yer' names" Kenny sighed, picking up AJ from where Clementine had him stashed underneath the bed.

"I'm Kris, and he's Jake. What about you two?" Kenny looked at the two, before sighing and standing up.

"Names Kenny. This is Clementine and AJ" Kenny explained, pointing to the young girl and the infant.

"Well, why don't we head downstairs, I'll get you two some food and you can tell us a bit about yourself." Jake offered, holding the door open for everyone to leave. Kenny was the first to leave, followed by Clementine, Kris and finally Jake. The four made their way down to the kitchen, and got Kenny and Clementine a can of beans and a bottle of water each. They talked for a few hours, exchanging stories and such, before Kenny decided to head back to the dorms.

"I'll see y'all in the morning. Clem, you comin'?" Kenny motioned for the young girl to follow him, but she shook her head in response.

"I was going to stay down here for a bit and get to know Kris and Jake a bit better" Clem explained. Kenny looked her in the eyes, before sighing and walking off to the dorms.

"Think I might follow his example. Seeyas in the morning" Jake yawned as he stood up and headed in the same direction as Kenny. The space grew quiet around them, making for an awkward silence between the remaining two.

"So, how long have you known Kenny?" Kris asked, trying to start a conversation with the child.

"About 2 years. I've known him since everything started…" Clementine trailed off, obviously saddened by something. Kris could see this clearly, and moved next to the young girl and placed an arm around her shoulder.

"Hey, is everything alright? You seem a bit upset" Kris asked, trying not to make the girl more upset than she already was.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine. Just remembering… stuff" Clementine sniffled, holding back tears. Kris felt genuinely bad for Clem. She was, what, 11 years old? Yet she had to go through so much shit. She was tough, that's for sure, but even the strongest of people eventually collapse.

"Well, you might not trust me yet, but if you ever want to talk about anything, come see me" Kris offered, hugging the girl. Clementine tried hard to keep the tears back, but in the end, she broke down and began sobbing into Kris' shirt. She kept a grip on Kris and cried for a good 10 minutes before passing out in his lap. Kris smiled warmly as he picked the girl up and walked her towards the dorms. Silently, he creaked the door open and saw Kenny at one side of the room, asleep, and Jake laying on the other side, also asleep. He walked over to Kenny and laid Clementine in one of the cots next to the man, before finding a bed next to Jake and lying down. He sat there for a few minutes, replaying the events that occurred moments ago, before eventually dozing off.

* * *

"Kenny? Oi, Kenny. Wake up" Kris shook the man slightly, which made him stir, but still refused to wake up. He shook Kenny again with a little more force.

"Kenny, wake up. We got shit to do" Kris shook him a third time, and accidentally rolled the man off the bed. Kenny hit the ground headfirst, and groaned aloud. Kris stifled a laugh, trying so hard not to laugh out loud. The older man sat up from the floor, and scowled at Kris.

"The fuck was that for?!" Kenny shouted, rubbing his forehead where he hit the ground.

"I was trying to wake you up. Jake and Clem went out to the creek to fish, AJ is asleep still, and you're helping me do inventory." Kris explained as he grabbed Kenny's hand and hauled him to his feet.

"Wait, you shit bags took Clem out without speaking to me first?!" Kenny growled, grabbing Kris by the collar. Kris jumped back, but kept a straight face.

"Hey, Hey, Hey, easy now. The creek is barely a few minutes away, they'll be fine. Jake said he was going to teach her how to catch and gut fish for a few hours, then they would bring whatever they find back, and that's our dinner" Kris explained, trying to pry Kenny's hands from his collar. Kenny seemed reluctant at first, but eventually let him go.

"She better be alright, or its your ass" Kenny grumbled, before departing the dorms. Kris couldn't help but frown as he left the dorms. It wasn't exactly the smartest of ideas, even Kris protested the idea, telling Jake how Kenny would react, but he simply shook it off and left with the young girl.

"For fuck sakes Jake, you better bring something good, or I'm going to kick your ass" Kris muttered as he left the dorms to finish counting their supplies. He was taking care of the food and water while Kenny counted the ammo. Once he arrived at the kitchen, he walked in and grabbed a notepad off the bench, and began counting the assorted cans of food, water and other non-perishables in the kitchen.

* * *

"See Clem? It's easy as" Jake laughed, throwing another fish into the cooler between him and Clementine. They had been fishing for around 2 hours now, and caught around 5 decently sized fish.

"I say, we catch one more good fish, and head back to Howe's. What say you, madam?" Jake joked in a mocking British accent.

"Oh my god, your version of a British accent is so bad!" Clementine laughed, clutching her sides. She almost fell off the stump she was sitting on, but she managed to stay seated where she was. Jake looked towards the creek, focusing on the rods. The two lines sat bobbling in the weak current of the creek, and as the two watched, they saw many fish swim past the hooks downstream.

"Damnit, they aren't taking the bait" Jake groaned, as he drew his line in and cast it back out. Clem went to do the same before she felt the rod almost get ripped out of her hands.

"Jake, Jake! I-I got a bite!" Clementine exclaimed happily, grabbing onto the reel in an attempt to keep the fish hooked.

"Good job Clem! Now, reel it in. Pull the line in, and get the fish!" Jake cheered as he saw Clementine struggling with the rod she held. The line kept getting closer and closer, pulling the fish out slowly, until Clem gave one hard pull and ripped the fish out of the water. The fish was quite large, the biggest they had caught so far. Clem's eyes shone as she marvelled in her first ever catch.

"Good job Clem! That was amazing!" Jake praised the girl, as he grabbed the bag of tools from beside him.

"Would you like the honours of killing and gutting the fish?" Jake offered her the bag, but Clem refused to take it.

"No thanks, catching is enough. You can gut it" Clem explained, reeling in Jake's line.

"I'll gut this, then we can head back" Jake made quick work of gutting the poor fish, before he stuffed it in the last cooler with any space.

"Welp, lets head back, shall we?" Jake grabbed the second cooler and stood near the path back to Howes. Jake led the way as the two made their way back to the massive hardware store. They were completely oblivious however, to the figure watching them from atop a rocky cliff nearby.


	4. Chapter 4

"Stupid damn walkers" Jake muttered, pulling the hammer out of the undead monsters skull. Over the last few weeks, walkers breaching the walls became more and more common.

"I'm guessin' another one got in?" Kenny chuckled, opening the door. Jake glared at the Floridian, before chuckling and throwing the bloodied hammer to the man.

"Yeah. I don't see how the stupid things keep getting in, we're constantly repairing the walls" Jake explained, wiping blood off his face. Kenny looked at the thick wooden walls, and noticed the amount of rot and mould evident on the wood.

"I'm starting to think its time to think about moving on from Howe's…" Kenny said disheartened. Jake looked at the man with a look of annoyance as Kenny continued. "Look, I know this ain't what you wanna hear, but c'mon man, this place eventually WILL fall, and I don't wanna see you, Kris or Clem get hurt."

"Kenny, I know what you mean, but we can't just up and leave when the going gets rough!" Jake pointed out, moving a spare board over the walker's new entrance.

"I know that, and I ain't sayin' we leave right now. But we need to start making plans should this place not work" Kenny sighed, watching as Jake picked up a spare hammer and started hammering the board into place.

"Look, listen to me or don't. I'm just saying, we need to plan for the inevitable" Kenny mused, walking back into the store. Jake stopped in the doorway and stood there, staring out at the few walkers that occasionally stumbled from the dense forestry surrounding the store.

"I know the time will come, but why not enjoy this while we can?" Jake thought to himself as he closed the door and headed to his friend.

* * *

"Are you fucking kidding me? Another one got in?!" Kris seethed, kicking the wall in anger.

"The walls rotten, its to be expected man. Almost all the spare wood we have is rotten…" Jake explained sadly, seeing his friends anger. Kris has anger issues as a kid, yet it seems the apocalypse stopped him from caring about how it affected himself or anyone anymore.

"Well, what can we do? Wood doesn't exactly just _appear_ out of nowhere…" Kris sighed, rubbing his temples.

"Well, we have plenty of axes in the store. I'll take Kenny with me on a supply run, look for some gas and meds, and chop some wood and throw it on the truck while we go" Jake offered. Seeing his friend so stressed about this upset Jake, and he was determined to do what he could.

"Thanks, I'll get to work on the greenhouses with Clementine" Kris smiled, his mood improving rapidly.

"Alright, well I'm gonna go load up the truck. We'll be back in a few days" Jake waved as he left Kris in the upstairs office alone.

* * *

Kris sat in the large chair, looking over the numbers he had taken a few days ago. By his math, accounting for 4 people and an infant, they had maybe, 18 months' worth of food and water. Meds were running low, and they had little to no gas left. Looking over the same notes for hours on end, making sure everything was alright, Kris was startled when a knock came at the door.

"You already know its unlocked" Kris chuckled, stacking the papers up and setting them aside. He watched as Clementine entered the room with a basket in her arms.

"I thought you were coming up to work on the greenhouses?" Clementine asked, as she took something out of the basket.

"Yeah, Jake was just here. I told him I'd be there in a sec." Kris explained, moving another sheet to the side.

"Jake left 3 and a half hours ago, I've been working on my own" Clementine said, looking confused at the man.

"3 and a half hours?! Shit, sorry Clem I didn't realise. Here, let me come help you" Kris tried to apologize, but Clem simply waved him off.

"Don't worry, most of them are done already, I just have the one near the loading bay left" Clementine explained as she handed an apple to Kris.

"Woah, where did these come from?" Kris eyes widened as he inspected the red fruit.

"I had enough soil and spare wood on the roof, so I started growing an apple tree. It's been up there for a few moths now" Clem explained confused. "How did you not notice it up there?"

"I guess I've just been cooped up in this little office" Kris laughed, biting into the apple he was still holding.

"That is true, I guess" Clementine accepted as she turned to leave.

"Hey Clem, hold up a sec" Kris stood up as he walked over to the young girl. She turned to him, before asking: "What's up?"

"I, uh, wanted to talk to you" Kris explained nervously, sitting down and motioning to the other chair.

"OK?" Clem asked as she sat the basket on the ground and sat in front of Kris.

"I just wanted to ask if everything's alright. When you and Kenny first got here, when it was just you and I, you sort of… broke down" Kris reminded her, as she looked down towards the ground.

"I guess the reality of, everything, hit me. I guess I felt comfortable opening up like that, cause you sort of remind me of Lee" Clementine explained sadly, her voice dropping towards the end.

"Who's Lee?" Kris asked puzzled. Clementine sighed, before standing up.

"M-maybe another time" Clem said quickly, grabbing the basket and rushing out of the room, leaving a still confused Kris in her wake.

"Huh, wonder what that was all about?" Kris wondered as he moved back around and sat down to look over the count once again.

* * *

"You sure you know what you're doing?" Jake asked as he watched Kenny work underneath the truck.

"For the eighth time, YES. I do know what I'm doing" Kenny snapped, annoyed with Jake's constant prying.

"Alright, alright. Might as well go get some wood while I wait" Jake sighed, grabbing one of the axes off the back seat and walking towards a fairly thick tree.

"Don't stock up too much more. We're nearly full as it is" Kenny called out, climbing out from under the truck.

"Yeah Yeah, I know. Last one, I promise" Jake called back, as he swung the axe into the tree. Kenny chuckled as he started the truck, only to hear it splutter and struggle.

"C'mon, you stupid thing. At least get us home…" Kenny mumbled, kicking the wheel.

"TIMBER!" Jake called out as the tree fell, narrowly missing the front of the truck.

"JESUS CHRIST JAKE, YOU ALMOST TOTALLED THE TRUCK" Kenny shouted.

"Yeah, well, I didn't, did I?" Jake answered, laughing at Kenny's fuming face.

"You are so lucky I don't smack you upside the head right now" Kenny mumbled angrily, as he grabbed the spare saw from the truck and began cutting up the wood.

"Eh, well, sorry I guess" Jake apologized, throwing his axe in the truck.

"Yeah, ok. Just go open the back of the truck and start loading this in" Kenny asked, throwing more of the cut wood to the side.

"Hold that thought for a second, gotta go take a piss. Be back in a sec" Jake wandered off into the forest, leaving Kenny behind to finish the wood.

* * *

He wandered for a few minutes, simply admiring the scenery, before he remembered why he was here.

"Good as place as ever to go, I guess" Jake thought as he relieved himself. After finishing, he zipped his fly up and turned to walk back to the truck, only to trip over a stump.

"Ah, stupid fucking stu-" Jake looked back to the stump, only to see it was kicked aside, and a small hatch embedded in the ground.

"The fuck?" Jake wondered as he inspected the mysterious hatch. It was a circular opening, with a rusty door decorated with a single handle. The cover was firmly affixed into the ground, and didn't seem as though it would budge, despite Jake's hard pulls against the handle.

"JAKE, YOU OUT HERE? C'MON MAN KRIS'LL KICK MY ASS IF YOU'RE DEAD" Kenny hollered, startling Jake. He turned quickly and flagged the beared man down, motioning to crouch down.

"Kenny, take a look at this" Jake whispered, as Kenny crouched beside him.

"The fuck? Why's there a hatch just in the middle of the forest?" Kenny asked puzzled, as he tried to pull on the handle.

"Wont budge. I already tried" Jake pointed out, looking at the hatch, trying to figure out a way to pry it open.

"I'll go grab an axe, see if we can't pry this open" Kenny ran off towards the truck, as Jake continued trying to tug on the handle, only for it to snap off in his hands.

"Catch!" Kenny shouted, throwing something to Jake. He caught it and instantly saw it was a crowbar.

"We had a crowbar?" Jake asked puzzled. He hadn't noticed a crowbar with the rest of his tools, and he had packed the damn truck.

"Yeah, it was in the bag in one of the side pouches. There were 2 in there, plus a flare. Instead of dulling the axes we can just open it with these" Kenny explained, jamming his crowbar under the hatch and attempting to pry it open.

"Yeah well, try not to throw your back out opening this" Jake joked, earning a glare from Kenny.

"Cmon, I'm not THAT old" Kenny grunted.

"Sure…" Jake chuckled, as he jammed his crowbar under and began trying to pry the hatch open. Both men struggled for a few minutes, before a snap was heard and the hatch flipped open.

"Gotcha, you son of a bitch!" Kenny laughed triumphantly, kicking the hatch. Jake doubled over, relieved they finally managed to pry the damn thing open.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's check this thing out" Jake asked seriously, grabbing his gun and a flashlight and climbing down the ladder in the ground. Kenny followed soon after, and the two descended quite quickly down the ladder. They climbed for a good 5 minutes before finally reaching the bottom.

"Jesus Christ that's a massive fucking ladder" Kenny inhaled, catching his breath. Jake looked at him wordlessly, trying desperately to catch his own breath so far underground.

"Ok, mister underground dungeon. What loot do you have for me?" Jake smirked as he flicked his flashlight on and snuck down the tunnel. Aside from the torches, the tunnel was pitch black, adding to how creepy a random tunnel in the forest was.

"Damn, this place is giving me the creeps" Kenny shuddered, as the duo continued on.

"Look up ahead. Looks like a door of some sort" Jake pointed out as they approached a very futuristic looking door. Sitting beside it was a dead walker, with a scalpel of sorts sticking out of his forehead.

"Damn, he got fucked up" Jake gawked, before noticing a key-card pinned to his chest.

"Grab his card. Might come in handy" Kenny pointed out, approaching the bleached white door.

"Odd looking card" Jake muttered as he grabbed the card and inspected it.

"Hey, this guy was CDC. Maybe this is a government lab?" Jake asked to no-one in particular.

"Maybe…" Kenny banged on the door, with no effect. He banged again, with the second time knocking a panel next to the door out of place, revealing a pad of sorts.

"Hey, take a look at this" Kenny motioned for Jake, as the younger man walked over and inspected the panel.

"Hey, try the key-card. Maybe it'll open the door?" Jake looked over at Kenny, who simply shrugged. Seeing nothing could go wrong, Jake pressed the white card against the scanner, which hummed, before the door clicked and began sliding open.

"Shit, it worked!" Kenny hollered, as he pushed the large door open.

"Treasure time!" Jake joked as he followed Kenny into the room, only to be met with the barrel of a gun. Both men stared at the figure in front of them. Both men didn't dare move, risking their lives.

"Just who the fuck are you?" The figure asked in a feminine voice. Both men looked at each other, worry etched on their face. The air seemed to stiffen, tension riding through the air. Jake stepped forward to explain, before he felt himself get struck in the temple with the butt of a rifle. Kenny watched as his companion hit the ground with a bleeding forehead.

"HEY! WHAT THE FUCK?!" Kenny screamed before he felt the "loving" embrace of the rifle's butt hit him and knock him out cold.

"Jesus Christ, we can't just knock people out like this, at least let them explain first!" The first figure spat, as she watched a second figure appear behind her.

"Fuck them. Especially El' Beardo" the second woman spat back, kicking Kenny in the head.

"What's your problem with him Lilly?!" the woman shouted, moving to pull the now unconscious men out of the doorway.

"Well, it's a bit of a long story…" Lilly sighed as she moved to help clear the doorway.

 ***A.N. Holy fuck this took forever for me to write. This chapter took way too long to write, for 3 reasons.  
1\. I was stuck for how to write this  
2\. School.  
3\. I've been playing Payday 2 a lot lately, and I've been forgetting to write it. **

**Yes, these are excuses. No, not all of them are valid. The first two are, the last one is just me being lazy =/**

 **If something is wrong for this chapter, my writing style is bad or its too rushed, please do tell me. I'm trying my hardest to write better, but I cant really if I don't know if I'm doing something right or wrong.**

 **Anywho, enough ranting. Chapter 5 is in the works right now, and we have 2 new characters, one we thought we lost in Season 1, and another OC.**

 **Ciao,  
Exfinity**


	5. Chapter 5

"C'mon Bud, you can do it. Just a little further" Kris cooed to a giggling AJ in the middle of the store. Clementine had disappeared off somewhere, and left Kris to tend to the infant. AJ was getting old enough that he was starting to crawl around.

"Come on AJ, just a little bit more" Kris extended his hand and grabbed AJ, dragging him the rest of the way. The little tike was nearing 5 months old and was already crawling, which surprised both Kris and Clem. Most babies start crawling at around 6-8 months old, yet AJ was already crawling around the store.

"Kris, have you heard anything from Jake or Kenny?" Clementine shouted from the skylight above Kris, startling the older man.

"Nothing, they've gone quiet" Kris shouted back, picking up AJ and standing up.

"They should've been back a few days ago" Clementine muttered, dropping a rope down from the skylight.

"Truck might've run out of gas. Don't panic Clem, I'm sure they're ok" Kris emphasised to the young girl as she slid down the rope towards him.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Can't help but worry though…" Clementine sighed, taking AJ out of Kris' hands.

"Hello? Anyone in here?" a voice echoed through the store. Clementine and Kris looked quickly around the store, searching for the source of the voice and spotted a man walking through the door. Kris threw his arm back and un-holstered his gun, pointing it directly at the intruder.

"Who the fuck are you?!" Kris spat, moving towards the door.

"Woah, easy. I'm not trying to hurt anyone, I'm just trying to find a safe place for my family" The man spoke quickly, raising his hands.

"You have a family?" Kris' gun faltered in his grip, and he lowered the gun slightly.

"Yeah, its just Me, my wife and our son" The man explained, waving behind him. A woman and a young boy, about Clementine's age, walked in behind the man.

"Look, we're only trying to stay safe. Please, don't put us back out there" The woman pleaded from behind her husbands back, clutching their son.

"Kris? What should we do?" Clementine turned towards Kris, staring up at him. Kris seemed lost in thought, his gun still raised. He stood rigidly, the gun still raised before he sighed and holstered the gun.

"There's a spare room off the main floor with a few beds. Clementine oversees any work she deems you three need to do. Do not make me regret this" Kris ordered, walking away towards the stairs.

"Thank you, thank you so much" The woman walked up to Clementine, and shook her hand furiously, thanking her repeatedly.

"You heard Kris. Rooms over there, go unpack and get some rest" Clementine pointed out a small room across from the armoury.

"Thank you, we'll be ready to work hard tomorrow" The man walked past, the young boy trailing behind him. Clementine glared at the boy, making him shrink slightly and chase after his father.

"Hey, I didn't get your names!" Clementine turned and shouted to the family. The husband and son walked into the room and ignored her, while the wife turned and walked back.

"My bad. My name is Patricia, my husband's name is Randy and the boy is Gill" Patricia smiled, turning back towards the room her family went to and walked in, shutting the door. Clementine looked up into the open skylight and saw the sun was beginning to set, and AJ was fussing. She walked to the kitchen and grabbed a can of baby food and sat down to feed the infant.

* * *

"You know, I don't appreciate you staring down my son" Randy's voice echoed coldly behind Clementine, startling her slightly. She ignored the man and continued to spoon the green mush into the smiling infant's mouth.

"Hey, don't ignore me!" Randy snapped, grabbing Clementine by the wrist and spinning her around.

"Let. Her. Go" A gun clicked behind Randy, sending his heart into overdrive. Clementine looked back to see Kenny behind the man, a gun pointed directly against the back of his skull.

"Kenny, you're ok!" Clementine smiled, happy her friend had returned safely.

"Yeah, we're ok. And, we brought company" Kenny explained, his eyes never leaving a frightened Randy.

"So, care to explain what you're doing in here manhandling my little girl?" Kenny's words had a slight poison behind them as he kept his gun trained.

"L-look, I w-was just trying t-to get her attention. I d-didn't mean to h-hurt her" Randy tried to explain, fear consuming him.

"Well, Kris already explained you guys are new, so I can't exactly kill you. But, I have something better in mind" Kenny grinned evilly, grabbing Randy by the back of the shirt and dragging him out of the kitchen.

"What are you going to do with him?" a strangely familiar voice echoed from beyond the door. Clementine walked out behind Kenny and felt her heart drop.

"You…" Clementine spat.

"Clementine? You're alive?" Lilly looked at her shocked and moved to embrace the young girl.

"Don't you dare touch me" Clementine snapped coldly, pushing the older woman off her.

"Clem? What's the matter?" Jake walked up behind Lilly and looked confusedly towards the young girl.

"This… This… BITCH KILLED CARLY! DO YOU KNOW HOW THAT AFFECTED THE REST OF US?! HOW THAT AFFECTED LEE?!" Clementine screamed in rage, staring down the older woman. Everyone was shocked to hear Clementine lash out like this, even Kenny.

"Clem, I did that for the good of the group…" Lilly tried to explain, getting cut off by the raging child.

"NO! YOU DIDN'T DO IT FOR THE GROUP, YOU DID IT BECAUSE YOU HATED HER! YOU HATED HER, AND YOU KILLED HER!" Clementine screamed, shutting her up. Lilly looked on as the reality hit her. Clementine was no longer a scared 8-year-old girl, she was a hardened survivor.

"Clementine, trust me when I say what I did back then… I really do regret it. I'm sorry for what I did years ago, and I know I can't take that back" Lilly tried to reason, though Clementine wouldn't budge.

"After everything you did. After you killed Carly, stole our RV, and caused Kenny so much grief, you have the guts to say, "I'm sorry"?! IM SORRY DOESN'T BRING CARLY BACK! IM SORRY DOESN'T BRING LEE BACK!" Clementine huffed, staring once again into her eyes.

"Wait, bring Lee back? He isn't-" Lilly looked generally surprised.

"No, he isn't here. He got bitten and died in Savannah. We took the train into the city, and he got bitten" Clementine's voice dropped when she started talking about her old mentor.

"Shit, Clem. I didn't know…" Lilly sighed, looking away in shame.

"Just don't bother. You can share a room with Randy and his family" Clementine snapped sadly, storming back into the kitchen and slamming the door shut.

"Man, you guys have issues" Kenny heard the snarky remark and turned to their new medic, Winter.

"Yeah, guess you could say that" Kenny mumbled as he dragged Randy over to the pen they once stayed in.

"You'll be spending a night in the beautiful outdoor section of our home, The Pen. Gate's gonna lock, and I have the key, so their aint gonna be any breaking out. You can come out tomorrow morning, hopefully with a bit of a better attitude" Kenny explained blankly as he opened the large shutter to the pen and shoved Randy inside.

"Whatever" Randy spat back, storming into a far corner and sitting down.

"Kenny, what happened? Clem's locked herself into the kitchen and won't open up" Kris appeared suddenly behind the beared man, startling him.

"We had a uh, slight problem with one of the new guys. I sort of forgot Clem hates Lilly, hell even I don't trust her, but we gotta make do. She's a hell of a shot, as much as I hate to admit it" Kenny explained, walking away from the locked pen.

"Well that's just great, we have a nice dysfunctional family going on" Jake joked sarcastically from behind them. He was sitting atop the shelves, moving boxes of supplies around.

"Fuck off Jake" Kris flipped his friend off, chuckling.

"So, Kenny, you want to explain where you found those other two?" Kris looked over at Kenny, expecting him to dive right into the story, but Kenny didn't say a thing.

"We'll wait till Clem comes out, and I can tell it to all y'all" Kenny waved off Kris and walked towards the room he, Kris, Jake and Clem, along with AJ, shared at the top of the store. Kris watched him go, before walking back over to the kitchen and knocking on the door.

"Clem? C'mon it's Kris, open the door" Kris called through the door. He heard a shuffling and a can hit the floor, before the door clicked open.

"What." Clementine answered emotionlessly. AJ was asleep on the table, wrapped up in a spare blanket.

"You gotta come out Clem, we're worried about you…" Kris explained, stepping into the kitchen and shutting the door.

"I just need some time alone…" Clementine replied, her voice void of any feeling.

"She must've worked herself up too much seeing Lilly again" Kris thought to himself.

"I know you might be upset because of this Clem, but you can't just lock yourself away. You need to talk to someone. Me, Kenny, even Jake as much as I hate to admit it" Kris huffed, turning towards the door.

"I don't need to speak to anyone. I just want to be alone" Clementine mumbled as Kris left the room.

* * *

"Hey, you're Kris, right? Have you seen Randy around? I can't find him anywhere" Patricia piped in suddenly as Kris left the kitchen. He jumped in surprise at Patricia suddenly appearing, spinning around to the woman.

"The new guy? He's out in the pen for the night" Kris explained, walking away.

"Wait, the pen? That outdoor area? Why is he there?" Patricia questioned, chasing after Kris.

"According to Kenny, he grabbed Clem and tried to hurt her, so he got thrown in the pen" Kris walked on, opening the door to the bedroom where he, Kenny, Jake and Clem shared the few decent beds in the store.

"Oh, I see" Patricia nodded as she retreated back to her own room.

"That was awkward" Kris thought to himself as he shut the door to his room.

* * *

"Hey Jake, wanna come chill on the roof?" Winter shouted up to Jake, who was moving the last of a few boxes around.

"Sure, give me a sec and ill meet you up there" Winter nodded and ran up to the roof. She spotted a high area at the top of the store, next to an apple tree.

"What the heck? These guys grow their own apples?" Winter looked at the plump red fruit glimmering in the moonlight.

"Don't touch them, they aren't ripe yet" Winter spun around to find Kenny standing behind her, a smirk on his face.

"Sorry, its been a while since I've seen actual fresh fruit. Can't help being fascinated, right?" Winter laughed, walking away from the tree.

"Here, let me" Kenny walked towards the tree and pulled an apple from the centre, which looked a lot riper than the rest.

"Enjoy" He chuckled as he threw the red fruit into Winter's hands, her eyes lighting up like stars.

"Wait, really? Thanks!" Winter bit straight into the skin of the apple, tearing it off and munching happily. The juice of the apple flooded out, which in turn parched her throat.

"Good, right? Clem grows 'em up here all the time. We're also looking at doing some for oranges and maybe even bananas" Kenny laughed, picking an apple off for himself.

"Can I take a few down for the others? I'm sure the other guys in our room would love some of these" Winter looked over at Kenny pleadingly, as she chomped down again into the apple.

"Sure, let me grab a few off" Kenny nodded and grabbed a handful of apples off the tree, handing them to Winter.

"Thanks a ton!" Winter shouted as she scrambled down the stairs towards her room. She pushed the door open and found Gill and Patricia talking on one of the beds, and Lilly sitting on her own bed, cleaning her rifle.

"Guys, look at this!" Winter threw two of the apples to Gill and Patricia, threw one to Lilly, then remembered Randy and threw the last one to Patricia.

"Are these… apples?" Gill looked genuinely confused at the ripe fruit in his hands.

"Yeah, fresh off the tree" Winter pointed out as she chomped down again on her own fruit.

"Damn, they must have some time on their hands for this shit" Lilly chuckled as she bit down on the fruit.

"I know, right? Apparently, they even plan to do the same thing for oranges and bananas" Winter explained, biting into the core of the apple.

"Man, I'd love to see that" Gill fantasized as he bit into his apple, his face breaking out into a smile.

"I'm sure we might" Patricia smiled, watching her son bite into the apple happily. Winter watched as the others ate happily, laughing amongst themselves, then remembered Jake.

"Uh, gotta go!" Winter turned and ran out of the room, heading straight for the stairs back onto the roof. She ran past as she saw the young girl from earlier, Clementine, leave the kitchen clutching a baby.

"Hey, you're Clementine, right?" Winter turned away from the stairs and walked over to the child.

"Yeah?" Clementine turned and faced the girl, who smiled back. Winter had a sort of uplifting air around her, which reminded her of Sarah.

"I saw what happened earlier. Not trying to pick sides or anything, but at least try to give Lilly a chance? I've known her for a while and she has mentioned on many occasions how much she regrets killing Carley like that" Winter looked down to the child, who's face faltered for a moment.

"Ill try" Clementine finished, walking away. Winter shrugged before turning and heading back up the stairs.

* * *

"Took ya long enough" Jake laughed, startling Winter as she got onto the roof.

"Sorry, got a bit distracted" Winter chuckled, climbing onto a higher perch on the roof.

"I can see. I'm guessing you found the apple tree?" Jake chuckled, throwing a piece of cracked stone at a walker in the parking lot.

"Yeah, Kenny grabbed a few apples off and I ran them down to Lilly and that other family" Winter explained, sitting on the edge of the roof next to Jake.

"Cool. Hope they enjoyed then, Clem took ages to grow the tree" Jake yawned, stretching back and laying on the smooth rock of the roof.

"Gill sure enjoyed it. He ate half the thing as soon as I gave it to him" Winter laughed, throwing a rock at the same walker, knocking it down.

"Wait, you ate it? C'mon, tell me I'm not the only one who hates apples…" Jake joked, poking Winter in the back.

"Of course. When the world goes to shit, and this is a rarity, you can't really afford to be picky" Winter sighed, trying to remember life before the apocalypse.

"Hey, do you see that?" Winter squinted in the low light and noticed the outline of a person in the tree line.

"Hey, there's someone out there" Winter dodged down as she felt a bullet graze past her.

"OPEN FIRE!" Someone shouted from the trees, and 30 odd people began shooting towards them.

"Shit, get down!" Jake grabbed Winter's shirt and dragged her down to a lower section of the roof.

"Where did they come from?!" Winter called out, clutching her shoulder.

"I don't know! We gotta go down and warn the others!" Jake scrambled to run to the door and storm down the stairs, finding everyone already gathered in the middle of the store.

"Shit, what's happening?" Kenny shouted as he ran over to unlock the gate and get Randy out of the pen.

"Bandits, I think. Damnit, why can't we ever catch a fucking break?!" Kris cursed, loading a rifle.

"We can't stay here. They outnumber us 5-to-1. We need to get out, while we still can" Jake suggested, throwing Kenny and Winter an extra pistol each.

"Are we really suggesting leaving this place?!" Patricia asked in fear. Her family never found somewhere as safe as here, and they were already planning to leave.

"We don't have a choice. If the bandits don't kill us, the walkers those guns are gonna bring will" Lilly snapped, cocking her own gun.

"Kenny, you, Winter and Patricia go load up the truck with as many supplies as we can take physically. Clem, you and Gill hunker down in the kitchen, keep AJ safe. Jake, you, Lilly and Randy are with me. We need to keep anything that isn't us out" Kris ordered, running towards the loading bay.

"Got it" Everyone else shouted in unison, moving off to do their delegated tasks.

"Wait, why are we hiding? We can help" Gill shouted to Kris, who ignored him.

"Just don't question it and follow me. Least we can do is pack the food up for Kenny to move" Clementine pointed out, opening the door to the kitchen.

"Here, take AJ and put him on the table" Clementine handed the sleeping infant to Gill, who took the baby and sat him on the table.

"Ok, what should we pack?" Gill asked, grabbing a bunch of boxes.

"Everything. If we can eat it, pack it" Clementine ordered, packing shelves of cans at a time into separate boxes.

"What about the water?" Gill began packing cans as quickly as possible, packing as tightly as possible.

"Throw it outside, its going in the truck" Clementine replied, pushing another box out of the kitchen.

"Got it" Gill packed yet another box and pushed it out, making quite the stack of food.

* * *

"Shit, the fucking truck is out of gas!" Kenny shouted. Of course, with their luck, they had forgotten to refuel the truck.

"I'll fill it, you guys pack the truck" Patricia offered, grabbing the many cans of fuel and pouring the gasoline into the tank.

"Kenny, looks like the kids are packing the food in the kitchen. You move that, I'll go get the meds" Winter raced across the store into the infirmary, slamming the door behind her.

"Truck's full, now what?" Patricia shouted to Kenny as he opened the back of the truck.

"Ammo. Get those duffel bags and load all the ammo you can" Kenny ordered, grabbing a hand trolley and running to the kitchen. Patricia followed suite with the duffel bags in her arms, slamming the door open and beginning to load bullets, magazines, guns, anything weapon like into the bags.

"Damn, we have a lot of ammo" Patricia thought to herself as she pushed more and more rounds into the bag.

* * *

"Fuck, how many of them are there?!" Kris shouted as he reloaded his weapon yet again.

"I don't know, but we can't give up yet!" Lilly shouted from above him, taking down yet another bandit.

"Fuck me, I never knew my aim was this bad!" Randy shouted, throwing another empty magazine on the ground.

"Doesn't matter, just keep shooting!" Jake called out, shooting a walker that appeared from the trees.

"Shit, walkers! We don't have much time left!" Kris hollered, moving towards the stairs.

"Kris, where the hell are you going?!" Lilly snapped back at the retreating man.

"I'm moving down to cover our people down there. We need to speed this up and get out of here!" Kris shouted back, moving down into the store. He hit the ground running, literally, as he ran towards the kitchen where he saw Kenny moving boxes towards the loading bay.

"Kenny, how's the packing going?" Kris shouted, grabbing 2 boxes and following Kenny to the truck.

"Winter's on meds, Patricia's getting ammo and the kids are packing the food" Kenny reported, stacking yet another box of food into the back of the truck.

"Awesome, I'll give you a hand" Kris offered, stacking the boxes he was holding into the truck.

"Sounds good" Kenny thanked the man, grabbing yet another box and moving it.

"Kenny, that's the last of the food!" Clementine hollered, stacking the last box on the ground and moving back into the kitchen.

"I got the meds!" Winter called, pushing a cart into the truck and unpacking boxes off it.

"And that's the last of the ammo!" Patricia threw 4 bags into the truck, then ran back to the armoury to retrieve more.

"We're done here folks! Winter, grab everyone and get down here. Ill drive!" Kris ordered as he ran over to the truck and snuck along the front, throwing the door open and sitting the keys in the ignition.

* * *

"Guys, we're going! Come on!" Winter called out, firing a few rounds off the roof at the invading walkers. The last of the bandits had dissipated, but the walkers were flooding out at full force, surrounding the store.

"Gotcha!" Jake called out, firing the last of his ammo off and moving off the roof. Randy and Lilly did the same, before the 4 of them moved down the stairs and raced to the loading bay, except for Jake, who ran to the kitchen.

"Clem, Gill, lets go!" Jake shouted, running in and grabbing AJ off the counter and racing out. The two children followed, running behind the man and into the loading bay. Kenny was throwing the last of the boxes in, while Patricia and Lilly sat inside, as well as Randy.

"I'm going up to the front!" Clementine called out, despite everyone else's protests. She managed to push through the countless walkers and jumped into the front seat of the truck.

"Clem? What are you doing here?" Kris asked her as he started the truck.

"Everyone's in, just wait for their signal" Clementine replied, slamming the door shut. A few moments passed, with more and more walkers beginning to flood out of the forest. A banging noise began around them from the walkers.

"Kris, go!" Kenny shouted from the back of the truck, slamming the door shut. Kris slammed his foot down on the accelerator, peeling out of the loading bay and driving away from the store.

* * *

"H-holy shit" Jake cursed, sliding down the side of the truck and relaxing in the back of the truck. A lot of the space was taken up by the supplies, leaving little room for the 7 other passengers.

"That. was intense" Gill sighed, clutching his mother.

"Hey Randy, sorry about earlier. Just got a bit hot headed" Kenny walked over and held his hand out to Randy, who shook it without hesitation.

"Don't sweat it. I'm sure if it were the other way around, I'd probably do the same thing" Randy chuckled, releasing Kenny's hand.

"So, if you don't mind me asking, what happened to his parents? You two don't exactly look like his parents" Kenny asked, sitting down and pointing to Gill.

"One of our old groups, we were staying with him and his parents. They were amazing people, they truly were" Patricia explained solemnly, stroking Gill's hair.

"What happened?" Kenny asked, moving slightly so Randy could sit down as well.

"Our camp got raided, and they executed his parents as an example because our leader wouldn't come out. We barely got away and promised to take care of him" Randy finished, resting his head against a box and falling asleep.

"Well, I say we get some sleep. We're gonna need to shift in with Kris from time to time, until we can find somewhere to stay" Winter suggested, laying on top of her hands and dozing off.

"Well, there's a large city a few hours from here, Savannah I think, and there's an old shopping complex we can stay in" Patricia suggested. Kenny flinched at the mention of that death trap but remained silent.

"Sounds good" Lilly replied, dozing off.

"Kris, head for Savannah!" Jake called through the window between the cab and the back of the truck.

"Gotcha!" Kris called back, accelerating.

"Let's just hope there's something there we can use" Jake thought to himself as he laid down and fell asleep. Everyone else soon followed, and the soft sound of their snores filled the back of the trailer.

 ***A.N. HOLY FUCK THIS WAS LONG**

 **So I decided to use a bandit attack and a herd of sorts, and now we have a great group of 9!  
Next chapter is mainly going to be in the truck or stopped off, the group probably wont arrive in Savannah until Chapter 7, where I can use Chapters 8, 9 and 10 to add a bit of drama, and If I can figure out how, possibly 2 new characters. **

**Winter and Lilly's backstory will probably be explained next chapter, for those of you who saw them and went "Wait fucking what who are they?"**

 **Also, to Worker72, my guy you are a legend. You're the only one really reviewing the story, but it at least show someone likes the garbage I'm writing =)**

 **Anywho, im out.**

 **Ciao,**

 **Exfinity.**


	6. Chapter 6

***A.N.  
Hey look, an author note at the start, cool right?**

 **Nah, in all seriousness, I'm throwing this here to clear some confusion real quick.  
So, last chapter I mentioned I was going to be having the group go to Savannah, which by my calculations is about maybe 3-4 days straight driving away from Howe's. There is a reason for this, but for plot's sake, I can't say why. Just know shit's gonna go down soon. **

**Lilly and Winter's story is going to be explained eventually. Probably this chapter or next, im not sure. Winter for anyone who is curious, is my younger sister's OC. Her name is Winter because why not, though that's not her real name. Her real name will probably just be my sister's name, but for story's sake, its going to stay Winter.**

 **I'm also going to be looking for a community OC to use as my antagonist soon. The character won't be introduced until after Savannah, so probably around chapter 15. But, I am looking for characters now.**

 **If you want your character to be used, Feel free to email me with your name, your OC's name, their appearance, an image of the character if possible and any weapons they favour.**

 **With all that said, check the end of chapter note for more info.**

 **Onto the story…**

"Can we take a break? We've been driving for hours" Gill complained, getting restless in the back of the truck. Time had passed quickly in the back of the truck, but even Gill was getting bored. And with the only other child aside from AJ in the front of the truck, He didn't have anyone to talk to or play games with.

"Can't stop yet, those bandits move fast. We stay in one place for too long and we get caught out in the open, and the truck is banged up already as it is" Kenny dismissed, staring at the corner of the truck.

"I know that, but can't we at least afford a quick break so we can stretch our legs?" Gill whined, staring at Kenny.

"I'm with the kid here, Kris could use a break from driving" Winter chimed in from the back of the truck.

"Fine. Jake, bang on the window and get Kris to pull over" Kenny grumbled, standing up. Frankly, his back and legs were starting to ache, but he wasn't going to admit that.

"Kris! Pull the truck over!" Jake knocked on the window, grabbing Kris' attention. With the window closed Jake had a hard time hearing Kris' reply, but felt the truck slowing down none the less. The group stood up simultaneously as the truck pulled to a stop, and the slam of 2 doors sounded through the trailer. A moment passed before the door at the back of the truck slid open and sunlight flooded in.

"Everyone out, get some exercise" Kris helped to get everyone out of the truck, before climbing in and grabbing a box of food and dragging it out. He pulled 8 cans out of the box and slid it back across the floor.

"Come grab some food when you're ready" Kris called out to the group, grabbing a can and moving back to the front of the truck. He climbed back into the driver's seat and slammed the door shut. The group stared on at Kris' odd behaviour, utterly confused as to why he was acting so irrationally.

"I'll go talk to him" Jake offered, grabbing a spare can and moving up to the opposite door of the cab.

"Welp, ill be back" Winter walked off into the scrub without another word.

"Where is she going?" Patricia asked aloud, not really expecting an answer. No-one responded, nor did they notice Clementine sneak off after Winter.

Clementine tried to stay out of sight from Winter, trying not to be spotted. She wandered off so suddenly, it struck the 12-year-old as a bit off, causing her to decide to follow the white-haired girl.

"Seriously, an elephant in a china shop is quieter than you Clem" Winter called out, turning and facing the young girl.

"Sorry, just… got a bit worried" Clementine lied, looking away.

"You weren't worried for me, you were worried about me" Winter summarised, walking towards Clementine.

"I know, and I'm sorry. You just sorta of worried me when you wandered off and didn't say anything" Clementine apologized, looking up to see Winter right in front of her.

"Don't sweat it. I understand where you're coming from. We've known each other a grand total of 14 hours now, its understandable if you don't trust me just yet" Winter smiled, placing her hand on Clementine's shoulder.

"Thanks. Anyways, why were you out here anyways?" Clementine questioned, shaking Winter's hand off her shoulder.

"Oh, I came out here to pee" Winter laughed.

"Did I really need to know that?" Clementine cringed, shoving Winter away from here.

"You're my friend Clem, you deserve to know when I'm going to pee" Winter laughed even harder, doubling over. Clementine couldn't contain herself and started laughing loudly as well.

"Well, its nice to know I've at least got a friend who isn't an old man or a baby" Clementine chirped, helping Winter to her feet and trying desperately to catch her breath.

"In any case, we should get going back to everyone else. The group might be getting worried" Clementine turned to walk away, noticing Winter wasn't following.

"Ill catch up. Still gotta pee" Winter joked, turning and walking behind a large tree.

"Whatever" Clementine called back, jogging back to camp.

"Hey man, is everything OK? You seem a bit distant today" Jake consulted, sitting in the passenger seat and gazing over. Kris had his head against the steering wheel, gripping the wheel so tight his knuckles were going white.

"No. Nothing's ok, nothing at all is ok" Kris's voice came out barely audible, sadness laced through every word.

"What do you mean? Everything is ok. No-one's dead, we have a truck so we can push through walkers, and we have more than enough ammo, food and meds to last us a long while" Jake reasoned.

"Everything is ok? So you call living out of a fucking truck, constantly on the run from bandits and walkers 'OK'?!" Kris growled, shooting daggers at Jake.

"It's better than going out every week to get more rotting wood for a rotting store. The place was bound to fall eventually" Jake tried to press the idea that the store wouldn't last, but Kris wouldn't budge.

"And just how the fuck do you know so much about wood suddenly?" Kris snapped, staring Jake in the eyes.

"You don't remember my father was a carpenter. He showed me the difference between fresh and rotten wood" Jake explained, seeing Kris' face soften.

"Yeah, your father was a good man, huh?" Kris sighed, calming himself down.

"He was, and im sure he'd be proud of you right now, even if you aren't his son" Jake smiled warmly, offering his open can of beans to his friend.

"Nah, I already ate" Kris dismissed, leaning back against the wheel.

"Why don't you take a break and let me drive, you can chill in the back and get some sleep" Jake offered, stretching his back.

"Sleep? What is this sleep you speak of?" Kris joked, earning a laugh from Jake.

"Go on, get out of here. Pack up everyone else, and bang on the truck when you're good to go" Jake practically pushed Kris out of the driver's seat and took the seat himself, starting the truck up.

He heard the click of a door and saw Clementine climb up next to him, sitting herself down in the passenger seat.

"Hey Clem, how's it going?" Jake smiled, trying to find some way to pass the time as we waited for everyone else to get ready.

"Good" was Clementine's blunt reply. Clementine, for whatever reason, didn't like talking much to Jake. She wouldn't mind striking up a conversation with Kris or Kenny, but she always seemed to ignore Jake.

"Hey Clem, There's something I don't get. Why is it you're always so cheerful around everyone else, but you act so cold towards me?" Jake questioned, spinning in his seat. Clementine seemed to hesitate, alternating between playing with the door to simply ignoring him. Some time passed before she sighed and turned to face Jake.

"To put it simply, I don't like happy and cheerful people. I've known quite a few, and the same thing always happens. They die" Clementine explained, looking off into the distance.

"Well, there is one perk to having someone like me around" Jake explained, hearing a bang against the truck, indicating everyone was ready to go.

"And what might that be?" Clementine questioned, looking genuinely confused.

"Being like me means I'm more irresponsible than most. Irresponsible to the point where I offer to let 12-year-old's drive" Jake joked.

"What are you talking about?" Clementine asked, watching as Jake opened the driver's door and exit the truck, circling around and arriving at her door.

"Move over, you're driving" Jake explained, moving the young girl over to the driver's seat and sitting down in the passenger's seat.

"Me? But I don't know how to drive…" Clementine trailed off, not being sure about driving such a large vehicle.

"It's easy, ill show you" Jake reassured her, strapping himself in.

"Ok, so make sure your hands are here and here always" Jake moved Clementine's hands to the right place on the steering wheel.

"Ok, now what?" Clementine asked, keeping a death grip on the steering wheel.

"Ok, move this back to the one that says D" Clementine moved her hand off the wheel and pulled the gearshift back, locking it into place in drive.

"Now, like a gun you don't want to stomp down on the pedals. Just push down slowly, let the truck speed up" Jake concluded, watching the girl gingerly put her feet on the pedals.

"Which one do I press down?" Clementine noticed the three different pedals, which made her unsure of which to use.

"The one over there on the left is the accelerator. That'll make it go faster. The big one in the middle is the brake. If we need to stop, take your foot off the accelerator and put it on this one and press down. The last one is a foot guard. Put your left foot on it to keep it steady and just use your right foot for the other too" Jake explained, watching Clementine absorb the information and place her feet correctly.

"Now, push down on the accelerator and get going" Jake encouraged, feeling the truck start to move.

"I-I'm doing it!" Clementine shouted in excitement. The truck slowly started to gain speed, eventually getting to a decent cruising speed.

"Good, now keep an eye in front of you. We don't want to crash, now do we?" Jake instructed, reclining in his own seat.

"Ok, that makes sense" Clementine replied, keeping her eyes glued to the road. The window between the back and front slid open, and Kenny popped his head through.

"Didn't know you were such a bad driver Jake. I thought-" Kenny started, only to cut himself off when he saw Clem in the driver's seat and Jake relaxing in the opposite seat.

"Look Kenny, Jake showed me how to drive!" Clementine told the man excitedly. Kenny felt glad she was enjoying herself, but that didn't change the fact he was a bit annoyed with Jake for letting her drive.

"Jake, why is your lazy ass making Clem drive?" Kenny questioned, leaning against the window sill.

"Eh, my idea. She needs to learn this stuff eventually, right?" Jake shrugged, stretching in the seat.

"Yeah, but shouldn't we start her in something a bit easier as in, oh I don't know, not a full on fucking truck?" Kenny seemed a bit sceptical of letting someone so young drive something so large.

"She's doing fine isn't she? Trust me Kenny, she'll be alright as soon as we hit the highway" Jake dismissed, laying his head against the door.

"Whatever. Clem, if you get tired, pull over and knock on the window and ill come up and drive for ya" Kenny offered, shutting the window and walking back to his normal spot in the corner.

"Kenny, did I just hear you right? Clementine isn't driving, is she?" Lilly piped in, staring at Kenny in the inky darkness of the truck.

"Yeah, Jake had the bright idea to teach her how to drive a truck" Kenny shrugged, leaning against the door at the truck.

"Yeah, sounds like something he'd do" Kris added from where he sat against the food.

"So, how much longer until we reach this Savannah place?" Randy asked, hugging his sleeping wife and son.

"By my guess, I want to say 3 days. It's a day drive to the Ski Resort where Clem found me. After that, its 2 days driving to get back near the city. Once we reach the outskirts, we need to come up with a plan" Kenny figured he could come up with an excuse to keep him and Clementine out of the city, even if it meant ditching the rest of the group.

"Kenny, you cant plan to plan. This is just us driving and hoping for the best" Lilly sarcastically commented.

"Have you been to the city? Do you know how much of a death trap it is?" Kenny snapped back.

"Oh, I'm sure you'll be able to lead us through to victory" Lilly snapped back.

"I'm not going into the city, and neither is Clem. Y'all can risk your lives for nothing, but I ain't going in" Kenny walked off, leaving a fuming Lilly behind.

"Why? Upset you'll find your family as walkers?" Lilly taunted, stopping Kenny in his tracks.

"No. I'm scared to find a zombified Lee" Kenny replied, walking to the window.

"Z-Zombified Lee?" Lilly's voice came out almost in a whimper. She had thought perhaps they had gotten separated from Lee, and we're looking for him still, but her assumptions were crushed right then and there at the mention of an undead Lee. Lee had always been the strong one in the group, almost as strong as her father, and she didn't think he would be the one to die.

"Yeah. We got into Savannah, and Clem got snatched by someone she had been talking to on her walkie-talkie. He went to find her and got bit. He died saving that little girl, and I don't want her to go through the pain of seeing him like that again" Kenny looked over emotionlessly at Lilly, his stare one of remorse and anger.

"Man, this Lee guy sounds like a real legend" Winter commented, having woken up during the conversation.

"That he was. Damn guy wouldn't give up, even when he was dying. Saved me and my family countless times, and fuck was he a good shot. Probably as good as or even better than Lilly" Kenny didn't enjoy thinking about Lee now, but it did bring some happiness talking about his past glories.

"Obviously he was. Remember the motel raid? He and Carly killed almost all those bandits on their own" Lilly reminisced, a smile appearing on her lips.

"Yeah, he was a crack shot. Whether it was a rifle or a pistol, if he had bullets and a target, chances were someone was gonna get taken down" Kenny smiled,

"Yo, who are we talking about?" Jake suddenly appeared through the window, startling most of the trailer's occupants.

"Jesus fucking Christ Jake, don't scare me like that" Kenny snapped, hitting the man in the chest.

"Whatever. Gas is almost out, we got any spare?" That sentence startled everyone. There was no spare gas in the back of the truck, aside from 1 half full container.

"Not a lot. Tell Clem to push the truck as long as it'll go on, then park it and we'll go gas hunting" Kris remarked from the trailer, finally speaking up.

"Gotcha" Jake finished, shutting the window.

Another hour and a half passed before the truck began to splutter and stall, eventually pulling to a stop next to a multitude of crashed and flipped cars on an abandoned highway. Clementine released the steering wheel, her knuckles white from gripping so forcefully.

"Don't forget the parking brake" Jake piped in from behind her, confusing her.

"Parking brake?" Clementine looked over at Jake confused, watching as he sighed and grabbed a lever beside her and pull it up, hearing it click into place.

"The parking brake. It stops the truck from moving" Jake explained, unclipping his seat belt.

"Jake, hurry up and open the fucking door" Kenny shouted from the trailer.

"Oh yeah, we should go get the door" Clementine giggled, hopping out of the large truck.

"Grab that jerry can on your way past, I'm going to go out and find gas for the truck" Jake called out from the other side of the truck. Clementine grabbed a red can off the truck, thinking it was the right thing, then walked around and slid the door open enough for someone on the other side to open it the rest of the way.

"Thanks, it was starting to get stuffy in there" Randy commented, locking the door in place and jumping off the trailer, helping everyone else disembark the vehicle.

"Jake, while you're out if you happen to find anything we can use to cut a few holes into the trailer so we can breath back there, I'd appreciate it" Patricia appeared out of the truck, carrying a sleeping Gill.

"Ill keep an eye out. Winter, you and Kris wanna join me?" Jake grabbed the red can off Clementine, turning to the rest of the group.

"I'm good, ill head up onto that bridge and see what I can spot. Maybe we can find somewhere to stop for a few hours and rest" Winter replied, running off towards the large bridge in front of them.

"I'll follow her and make sure she doesn't kill herself up there" Randy ran off after Winter, leaving the rest of the group behind with the truck.

"I'm going to stay here, and watch over the truck" Patricia offered, walking to the front.

"Ill stay here with her. Kenny, you want to search these cars?" Lilly jogged to the front of the truck, opening the drivers door for Patricia.

"Sure, Clem, you wanna come with me?" Kenny grabbed one of the spare duffel bags and threw it over his back, grabbing a second for Clementine.

"Sure" Clementine replied, taking the bag from Kenny's arm and following him towards the stacks of broken cars.

"Guess its just you and me then, huh?" Kris chuckled, grabbing 2 extra cans for the gas and following Jake up the road towards where Winter and Randy were perched atop the large bridge. The bridge was a fair walk up the highway, though with how quiet it was on the highway, the walk was quite nice. Jake looked up towards the bridge, and saw Randy climbing down the ladder on the side of the support.

"Anything?" Jake called out, seeing Randy walk towards them.

"Winter's keeping watch up there. Looks like there's a gas station up ahead, might be something there" Randy shrugged, taking a can from Kris and leading them up the road. The cracked pavement was surprisingly hot, even this late in the afternoon. Walker corpses littered the road, making everyone uneasy, thinking one could spring up and chomp them at any time.

"There it is. Let's hope there's something of use here" Randy mumbled, taking lead as the three entered the station. The lot was made up of 4 gas pumps, a station and a mechanic shop.

"Kris, you go for the pumps, ill check out the mechanic. Randy, toss the station, see if there's anything inside" Jake assigned each person a job of sorts. Kris nodded and wandered to the pumps, trying to find any way to get the gas from them.

"There's no power, the pumps aren't gonna work" Kris called aloud to no-one.

"Might be something in here" Jake struggled to lift the door to the autoshop, but eventually managed to open it. The interior was almost pristine, as if it hadn't been looted yet, which worried Jake.

"Kris, take a look at this. It's untouched in here" Jake called out, walking into the dark shop.

"Station's the same. There isn't any power, but there is a lot of food just lying in there" Kris noted, entering the autoshop.

"Look's like we might have a chance here. There's an industrial hand pump in here, and a ton of tools" Jake pointed to a large machine in the back corner of the room, noting the various auto tools adorning the shelves.

"Pump's are dry, there's no gas here" Randy mentioned, standing in the doorway

"Dangit, the place is a bust" Kris sighed, moving out of the open doorway.

"Maybe not" Jake looked as though he just had a brilliant idea, which scared Kris.

"What are you talking about? There's no gas" Randy repeated, looking as confused as Kris.

"The tanks. Remember, Gas stations always have massive tanks underground where they store their gas" Jake ran off towards the pumps, his words taking a moment to register in Kris' mind.

"He's right, those tanks could be untouched!" Randy realised at the same time as Kris, both men looking at each other giddily.

"Randy, go help Jake find the tanks, im gonna grab that pump and a bunch of extra cans" Randy nodded, running off to help Jake. Kris darted back into the auto-shop, looking for a way he could move the large machine out of the garage to the tank. There were no trollies, dollies or anything similar with wheels he could see, which wouldn't do anything anyways, as Kris noticed the machine was bolted to the ground. There was however a long hose connected the side, which he grabbed and hoisted outside.

"Find the tank? This hose is heavy as fuck" Kris grunted, moving towards Jake and Randy, who had crowbars jammed into a hatch in the ground.

"Over here, we found one of them. And it's locked up, so there's bound to be plenty of fuel in here" Randy and Jake struggled to open the cap in the ground, both men using as much force as possible to force it out of the ground.

"It's a threaded cap. You aren't gonna rip it out" Kris pointed out, throwing the hose on the ground.

"Well, what do you suggest we do then? We need this gas, or we're stranded" Randy and Jake removed their crowbars from the lock, throwing them to the ground.

"Bolt cutters. Just cut the fucking padlock off and spin it open" Kris shrugged, walking back to the garage.

"There's some in the truck, I'll run and get them" Jake ran off towards the highway, back towards the bridge.

"Everything ok?" Winter shouted from atop the bridge, having seen them disappear behind the wall of the gas station.

"Everything's ok, we have a way to get a ton of gas, but I need bolt cutters" Jake shouted back up to Winter, passing under the bridge and running straight to the truck.

"Lilly, *pant* bolt cutters *pant* Behind *pant* you" Jake choked out, clutching the truck to get his breath back.

"Sure, here" Lilly shrugged, leaning back and looking through the bag, pulling out the massive cutters and handing them to Jake.

"Thanks" Jake panted, spinning around and running back away from the truck towards the gas station.

"Jake, shout up when we're going, I'm gonna loot a couple of the cars up here" He heard Winter shout from behind him, but was too preoccupied to reply. He ran on, eventually reaching the station and running over to Kris and Randy.

"Find them?" Kris asked, standing up off the ground where he and Randy were resting against the wall.

"Here. Go nuts, I'm sitting the fuck down"

"Good on ya. Randy, lets get this open" Randy stood up and moved towards the cap in the ground. Kris positioned the cutters on the lock, pressing down with as much force as he could. A sudden snap rung out and Kris pulled the cutters, and the lock, away.

"Here, might want this" Randy handed Kris some sort of tool, which consisted of a handle and 2 small pegs.

"What the fuck is this?"

"Dunno. But the cap has two holes on it, so I think you use this thing to twist the cap off" Careful with the brittle looking tool, Kris threaded the two small rods into the cap and spun the entire thing out, the sickening but somehow loveable scent of gasoline wafted out of the tank. Jake fished around in his pocket and found an empty bullet shell, which he proceeded to throw into the tank. The casing banged against the side of the tank, making a loud clanking noise before a soft splash echoed out.

"There's definitely something down there. Jake, come help me pump it out. Randy, you put the hose in" Jake nodded and ran after Kris, both entering the garage and disappearing out of sight. Randy turned and grabbed the hose and threaded it into the tank, putting down as deep as possible.

"Ready!" Randy shouted, not expecting a response. A few moments passed before the hose began to shift slightly, and gas began moving through. The sun was baring down on the hot pavement, forcing Randy to retreat inside to avoid getting heatstroke. Their gear was inside, stashed in a corner until they were ready to leave. The interior of the store was surprisingly cool, despite being basically an oven outside. A light buzzing filled the room, emanating from Kris' backpack. Curious, Randy slinked over to the bag and opened it, searching through the bag for the source of the noise. The bag was stuffed with food and water which he had to move, but eventually he found Kris' radio stashed at the bottom, which was buzzing. Something was coming through, but there was too much static to be able to hear through it properly. Shrugging, Randy stepped out of the station and into the lot, the signal clearing up a bit but not by much. The voice sounded quite deep, though Randy wasn't able to make out the voice.

"Randy! Come take this to the truck and get Lilly to drive it down" Jake jogged over to Randy, holding a can of gasoline. He handed the can to Randy, who grabbed it and nodded, before stopping and turning back.

"Here, give this to Kris. It's his radio, and I don't know how to work the damn thing. It was buzzing earlier" Randy shrugged, toting the heavy can of fuel and beginning the trek back to the truck.

 ***A.N. Holy shit, another longish chapter. I'm getting pretty good at this :D**

 **Everything in the top note will be the same here, so OC's, stories, blah blah blah.**

 **I've got a mental plan ready for the next 4-5 chapters, and I have to say, while it is a bit farfetched and might not turn out well, I'm happy with what will happen next.**

 **Welp, I'm out. Get some OC's going, I'm gonna need them!**

 **Yours,  
Exfinity**


	7. Chapter 7

**-*A.N. Hey guys, I am really sorry for taking such a massively long time to update this for you. I was almost finished the latest chapter, trying to polish it and my laptop broke. The screen died and I couldn't access it to back up anything, so I lost quite a lot of data. As such, I've had to completely re-write this entire chapter from scratch, which was a pain but it's definitely different than what I originally had. That, and school came up and I was that trapped with assignments and such I couldn't work on it.**

 **Sorry for the delay, but some things I guess are just unavoidable :/**

* * *

"Fuck me, it feels like its 100 degrees out" Kenny complained, wiping the thick layer of sweat that was building up on his forehead. Clementine looked over at him, thinking the exact same thing, but instead opting to not talk. "What I wouldn't do for a cold beer right about now…"

"Kenny, you can't be serious. I've seen you drunk, you can't hold your alcohol" Clementine failed miserably to try and stifle a laugh as Kenny glared at her.

"Whatever. You find anything yet? I've got fuck all over here" Clementine looked down at her meager stash, which mainly consisted of a few bottles of water, some assorted fruit snacks and a pair of binoculars. Her earlier joy died as soon as she saw this, seeing as they would need to make more stops. Their supplies were beginning to run low, they had next to no ammo, around 4 boxes of cans to feed 9 people, as well as around 8 cans of formula for AJ. They were going to start going hungry soon, and if it was anything like the motel, people were bound to start getting more and more snappy.

"Nothing, there's nothing here. We should just head back and get going, we aren't going to find anything" Clementine bent down and picked up the disappointingly light bag, slinging it over her shoulder and started walking back towards the truck. She heard Kenny grumble something behind her, before she heard him walk up behind her, crunching rocks against the cracked highway.

"Seems like almost everything these days is gone, we're living off scraps as it is" Kenny pointed out as the two trekked up the highway.

"Well, what if we started a farm? We could grow our own food and have veggies and fruit to live off of, and we can catch some animals out in the wild and breed them" Clem's eyes lit up as her ideas spilled out of her mouth. She turned to Kenny, a look of happiness but hesitation etched on his face.

"I don't know Clem. It's a good idea, don't get me wrong. But farming is a massive job, not to mention my opinion on farms isn't exactly high after the dairy" Clementine winced when she heard Kenny mention the St. John Dairy. She lost Mark, and as much as she hated to admit it, Larry, in the dairy. She was also seconds away from eating Mark's legs, had Lee not stopped her in time. Kenny noticed how drastically her mood had changed and kicked himself for what he said. "Shit, sorry Clem. I forgot it was a touchy subject"

"It's fine, It's just… we lost so much because of that stupid dairy. We lost Carley, we lost Mark, we lost Larry, we lost… everyone" The realization dawned on the girl. The bandits didn't start attacking until after the dairy. If they hadn't attacked, Lilly wouldn't have shot Carley, Duck and Katjaa would still be with them. If it weren't for the bandits, she wouldn't be here right now; she'd be with Lee still.

"I know, there ain't a day that goes by that I don't mourn Katjaa, Duck, Lee, even Ben. But we can't just give up because they're gone. We have the opportunity, the chance, to make things better. I'm sure everyone we've lost is looking down on us right now, cheering us on" Kenny looked up to the sky, as if thanking an invisible force. He had a look of hope on his face, something Clementine hadn't seen in years.

" _He's right. My parents, Lee, Sandra... They're all cheering me on. I have to keep going, for them_ " Clem thought to herself, smiling.

"Well, let's not dawdle. I'm sure everyone else is-" Kenny stopped suddenly, as a gunshot rang out. Clementine's hand instantly moved to her own gun, drawing it without even realizing.

"What in the fuck was that?!" Kenny whispered, grabbing his own gun.

"I don't know!" Clem whispered back, crouching down. The bag of supplies began digging into her back, making it hard to crouch.

"See anyone?" Kenny had his gun up, looking down the sight. The back of their truck was still open, but no-one was in sight.

"No, I don't… wait, up there!" Clementine pointed up towards the large bridge ahead of them, where Winter was slowly peeking over.

"Ok, we need to check the truck, then see if we can't spot where Kris and that went to" Clementine nodded, walking behind Kenny and slowly walking towards the back of the truck. The cars were thinned out around the truck, leaving nothing to use as cover, should there be someone with a rifle of some sort around the corner.

"Drop your bag, then move around the other side. I'll go around this way" Clementine removed the bag and hugged the side of the truck, moving towards the front. Both doors were shut, which gave Clem some hope that everyone inside was alright. Clementine peered into the truck and saw Lilly with her gun out, an arm around Patricia and Gill and moving them behind her. Clementine watched as she motioned forward, and before they realized anything, 2 more gunshots rang out. The bullets slammed into the front of the truck, barely missing Clem's head. She instinctively ran to the back of the truck and flattened herself against the back of the vehicle. She saw Kenny run around the corner and take cover behind the truck.

"Fuck! I saw them, they're behind those cars ahead of us, but I don't have a clear line of fire" Kenny huffed, leaning against the truck.

"How many are there?" Clementine looked fearfully back where they just were, noticing a flash of white fly past a window.

"I don't know, I didn't get a good look. Maybe 3 or 4 at the most"

"Well, we kind of have them surrounded, don't we? We're here, and Kris is behind them" Kenny turned to the girl, a look of pride on his face.

"That's right! But they didn't take anything big with them. So unless these bandits have a fear of handguns there's not much they can do" Clem sighed, trying to think of something.

"Wait, what about Winter? She's on the bridge, she can shoot down" Kenny peered around the corner and noticed Winter must have had the same idea, as she was leaning down and aiming at something behind the cars.

"Clem, go around that way and hide behind the cars. I'm gonna jump the barrier and move around on the other side. Let's see if we can't get the jump on them" Clem nodded and crouched behind the truck, reaching the other side and spotting a car she could easily reach. She peeked out slightly and reeled back instantly when another gunshot went off, the bullet slamming into the truck near here. She turned around right as Kenny jumped the barrier and disappeared behind it. She looked around for anything she could use when she saw the box of empty cans near the door. Without thinking she grabbed a can and hurled it forward, watching it get shot out of midair and flying back. She jumped back and hid further behind the truck.

"Kenny? Clem? Lilly? Anyone there?" Kris' voice rang out behind her, slightly static-y. Clementine turned and looked around for the source of the noise. She stepped forward and her foot kicked something under the truck. When she reached down and pulled out the object, she found Kenny's radio clicking.

"Kris, are you there?" Clementine whispered through the radio. A moment of silence followed, spooking Clementine, until Kris' voice came through again. "Clementine, thank god. What's going on up there, we heard a gunshot?"

"There's someone hiding behind the cars in front of the truck. Lilly and Patricia are in the front, and Kenny's run off to try and sneak behind them" Clem spoke quickly, trying to think of something she could do to help in any way.

"Alright. Where are you now?" Kris questioned as a few guns were cocked in the background. Clem slid up into the truck and crawled to the back to AJ's makeshift bed. "I'm in the truck with AJ"

"Good. Stay there, we'll take care of this"

* * *

"I swear, these people are fucking annoying me now. None of them have the balls to poke their heads out" One of the bandits murmured, his voice carrying across from behind their cover.

"Calm down Gerald, they'll come out. Just think what could be in that truck, use it as a reminder to be patient" The second bandit replied calmly.

"Yeah man, think about it. A decent meal, fresh water and a full truck!" The third bandit pointed out giddily.

"Keep it together Jerome, we still need to get rid of these people first" The second bandit scolded, aiming his rifle back towards the truck.

"Whatever. Why don't we just go up and take it?" The first bandit questioned, his eyes never leaving the cab of the truck.

"They might be armed. We can't just waltz up and take it, they'll fire on us before we even get near them" The second bandit explained plainly.

"Well we aren't gonna get it sitting back here. Why don't Sam and I go up and get the cab, and Gerald can stay back here and cover us?" The third bandit looked to his two companions, waiting for their input.

"That isn't a bad idea. Let's do it" The second bandit holstered his rifle, grabbing out a handgun and crouching by the hood of the car. The third did the same and hid behind the car, drawing his handgun and checking to make sure it was loaded.

"Well, let's go. Keep your head down, we don't wanna get shot, now do we?" The third bandit nodded, moving around the car into the middle of the road. The second followed suite, leaving only one bandit sitting behind the cars.

"C'mon guys, hurry up. I'm starving here" The bandit muttered, aiming down the scope once more.

"Oh, don't worry. That won't be an issue no more" The bandit tensed, hearing a strange voice behind him. He reached for his belt, only to feel the barrel of a gun against his head. "Don't even try it, fucker. You made a grave mistake attacking my truck"

"Wait wait wait! L-Let me call my friends off and w-we'll leave. I promise!" The bandit stuttered in fear.

"Nope, not happening" The bandit's face was beginning to sweat from under the bandanna he was wearing.

"Please, I don't wanna die man! I-I got a group I gotta take care of!" The bandit pleaded, dropping his rifle.

"Sorry, I'm afraid I can't. I let you go and you just pull us up again and try to rob us" The man snapped, grabbing the discarded rifle and taking it away from the bandit.

"W-We wont man! I give you my word, we won't attack you!"

"Hmm… Fine" The man moved the gun away from the bandit's head.

"R-Really?" The man put his arms out to stand up, then immediately tensed when he felt the gun against his head again.

"Nope" A single gunshot rang out, spreading brain matter and bits of the bandit's skull across the pavement.

"Damn Kenny, bit savage don't you think?" Kris appeared behind the bearded man, watching from afar as he killed the bandit.

"They almost killed Clem. I promised to take care of that girl, and I almost failed. Trust me, that wasn't nothing. If I had my way he would've been walker chow" Kenny stated, wiping the brain matter off his gun with the bandit's shirt.

"Jeez, and I thought I was the crazy one" Kris muttered, staring at the lifeless corpse of the bandit. The two stood still, staring at the corpse, neither noticing Jake and Randy approaching.

"Well, at least we got a bit of gas" Kenny commented, noticing finally the two gas cans Jake and Randy were holding.

"Not a lot though. We won't make it far with this, so it might be time soon to either find something more fuel efficient or we might just have to ditch the truck" Jake sighed, shaking the half empty fuel can to prove his point.

"We'll take this as far as we can. We might find another gas station ahead" Kenny sighed, looking back to the truck. He saw the other two bandits being held at gunpoint by Lilly and Patricia, with Gill and Clementine nowhere in sight.

"Might as well head back right?" Kris stepped over the corpse, walking towards the truck. The other 3 followed quickly, keeping quiet as they approached the 2 bandits who were being held at gunpoint.

"C'mon. We ain't gonna hurt ya, just let us go man!" The third bandit blubbered, struggling against Lilly. The second bandit, who appeared to be their leader, was unnaturally calm, only glaring at the man making a fool of himself next to him.

"We aren't letting you go, not after you shoot at us and try to steal our stuff!" Lilly snapped, trying hard to keep the flailing man down.

"Jerome. Stop making a fool of yourself and calm the fuck down" The second bandit scolded the man as though he were a fussy child. The flailing continued for a few moments before he stopped moving altogether, accepting his fate.

"Listen. We have a small group of people in the woods. My wife and son, as well as Gerald, who I currently assume is dead, has his daughter there. That's it. We thought you guys were bandits or some crazy fucks, which is why we decided to rob you guys. We didn't realise you were good people. Our group is dangerously low on food, and there's no other food in the area for miles. Can you at least put some thought into this. We're happy to trade with you guys, we have a lot of rifle rounds we cant use since we don't have the right rifle. All we have is 5.56 rounds, and our rifles take 7.62" The bandit explained simply, not making eye contact with anyone.

"Prove it, asshole" Kenny snapped from behind him. The second bandit moved his hand slowly down and whistled loudly, and as if on cue, a woman and two children exited the woods a few meters away from them.

"See? We only want to find some food, so we can get out of this area and somewhere with more supplies to scavenge" Lilly looked down at the two bandits they held at gunpoint, and the family that had just left the woods.

"Show us you have the rounds, and we'll give you a box of food and some water" Lilly stood up off the bandit she was holding down and held her hand out to help who they assumed was the leader up to his feet.

"Of course, we have about 6 or so big boxes. About 30 per box" The bandit waved to the woman who approached slowly towards the group.

"Sam, what's going on? I though you said you were going to ask them for help?" The woman ran to her husband and clutched him tightly, his son joining the reunion as well.

"Just a bit of a misunderstanding Maria. Nothing to worry about. Now, where are those rifle rounds we found?" The man released his wife and motioned to the bag on her back.

"Here, they're in my bag" The woman reached in and pulled a box of bullets out and handed it to Lilly. The latter took the box and looked at it sceptically before opening the box, seeing that there was in fact 30 rounds inside the box.

"They aren't lying about the rounds. What about the other boxes?" Lilly handed the box back to Maria, who handed it to Sam before pulling out 5 other boxes.

"6 boxes, as promised" Sam reassured before handing the boxes to the other group members. Everyone was silent, mulling over the trade. And as if on some unknown cue, Winter appeared out of basically nowhere and kicked the man Lilly was holding dead centre in the chest.

"Winter, the fuck are you doin'?" Kenny questioned, handing the box he was holding to Clementine, who had also just appeared from behind the truck.

"Sorry, couldn't help myself. Needed to get rid of some stress, and he was in prime kicking position" Winter shrugged, crouching down and rubbing the winded man's shoulder. "Sorry man, couldn't resist"

"Now, about the food and such?" Sam asked, turning back to the group.

"Only problem is we're running low as it is. We need the rounds, but we also need the food…" Lilly muttered, moving to hand her box to Maria.

"Well, come with us. We're moving down towards Georgia, since there's been rumours of people making a big community down there" Sam offered, pushing the box back towards Lilly.

"I don't know… Seems a bit farfetched" Kenny reasoned, only to be silenced by none other than Clementine.

"Kenny, you made me follow you through the snow to try and find Wellington. You were so desperate to find a pipe dream then, now you're arguing against finding it?"

"How about we don't argue about the damn area and perhaps talk about the fact that most of the cities in Georgia are overflowing with walkers"

"That's a good thing though…" Clementine muttered, trying not to be heard.

"A good thing? How the hell is that a good thing Clem?!" Kenny exclaimed, turning to the 12 year old.

"Think about it! More walkers means less people. Less people means more supplies!" Clementine reasoned.

"She's right, we found a supermarket a few weeks ago that was infested with walkers, but after we cleared them out we found so much untouched food and water it wasn't even funny" Sam backed up Clementine's idea, even having Maria nodding in agreement.

"Well then where's all that food gone?" Lilly frowned and looked at Sam.

"Gone. Some assholes ran us out of our camp and took everything, then said something about home base and 'Howes'. You guys know anything about that?" Sam looked over at the other survivors. Kenny quickly glanced over to the only other person who suffered in Howe's.

"Yeah, they were a big community run by some asshole named Carver. Let's just say they aint causing problems no more" Kenny explained, obviously not happy at the thought of Howe's.

"Well in any case, what about the walkers? If we can find another big stash of food, we can take that" Maria finally spoke up

"Well there ain't any easy way we're gonna get into a place like that…" Kenny muttered.

"We can clear them fairly easily. We have plenty of ammo" Sam offered, hinting at the mass amounts of ammo held back in Maria's bag.

"Why waste the ammo? We can just walk past them" Winter noted, leaning against a car.

"Winter, you are a fucking genius!" Winter smiled and looked away, watching a lone walker stumble towards the group.

"Wait, walk past them? You people must be crazy, that'll never work. They'll see us and kill us!" Jerome looked fearful, obviously remembering something.

"Not necessarily. Walkers can't see, they rely on smell to find their next meal. That means if you cover yourself in walker blood and act calm, they don't notice you" Clementine finished her explanation and looked around at the shocked faces surrounding her, with the exception of Winter and Kenny.

"Through walkers?! Clementine, I thought you were one of the sane people here. But walking past walkers? That'll never work" Lilly sighed, noticing her companion had gone to kill some walkers that were approaching.

"It's worked before. It's how me and Kenny got out of Howe's. It's how Lee got me out of the Marsh House, out of Savannah" Lilly perked up upon hearing Lee's name, then looked lost in thought.

"If Lee believed in it, then why can't we? He did so much for us, the least we can do is trust him" Lilly looked up then nodded, agreeing to the plan.

"Lee? Why does he sound so familiar…" Winter asked aloud, approaching covered in walker's blood.

"Jesus Christ, what is that smell?" Jerome gagged and covered his nose, though it seemed no-one else was affected.

"Wait… she's covered in walkers blood, the crimson stuff? So now she's like invisible to them?" The young girl in Maria's arm looked up.

"That is pretty much how it works sweetheart" Winter smiled, enticing a giggle out of the young girl.

"So, we have a deal? You let us travel with you and we can make a go for a new life?" Sam turned to Kris of all people and held his hand out.

"Anyone got an objection?" Kris asked the rest of his group but received no answer.

"Then yes, we have a deal" Kris grinned as he grabbed a firm hold of Sam's hand and shook it, sealing the unwritten deal.

"Well, I don't know how much fuel we got left, so I say we head out now and get as much distance as we can to Savannah" Lilly turned and opened the cab of the truck with Jake following, seemingly silent, which in itself was very weird. The man was normally very loud and outgoing, so to see him silent like this was very off-putting.

"Where do we go?" Maria asked, shifting her hold on the young girl she was holding.

"In the back of the truck. Everyone is riding in the back of the truck, so jump on in and we can get goin'" Kenny showed their new companions to the back of the truck and helped Maria climb in with the two children.

"What about Daddy?" The young dark skinned girl asked, looking around for her father. Kenny glanced nervously over to Kris and Randy, who shrugged.

"Honey, your Daddy is… gone. I'm sorry" Kenny saw the young girl's heart break, hearing her father was dead.

"W-What?! How?! WHY?!" The young girl began tearing up, grabbing the nearest person, who happened to be Sam, and began bawling into his dirtied shirt.

"He was bitten by a walker, and told me to kill him, because he didn't want to turn into a walker and hurt you darling" Kenny soothed, placing his hand on the trembling girl's shoulders. The rest of the group uneasily glanced around the truck, waiting for the hulking vehicle to start. After a silent moment, with the only noise being the sobbing girl, the low rumble of the truck rung through the truck. After a confirmed knock from the window, Winter stood up and shut the door to the truck, engulfing the group in darkness.

"C-Can we open the door a tiny bit?" The girl in Maria's arm squeaked, burying her head into Maria's chest.

"Of course, it's no problem" Winter smiled and slid the door open a fraction, enough to let a decent amount of light into the truck. The young girl sighed, leaning against her mother and falling asleep. Most people did the same, save for Clementine, who clutched AJ and sighed. Their group was back to a fairly large number, and their food was low as it was.

"Can't sleep?" Clementine jumped when she heard the voice speaking to her, who she found was Sam. He was casually laying against the metal wall, hugging the other child close to him.

"Uh-uh" Clementine heard the man sigh, shifting the girl up into his arms and quietly moving across the truck, sitting down again next to Clementine.

"What's this little guys name?" Sam asked gently, stroking AJ's hair.

"His name is AJ" Clementine explained quietly, adjusting her grip on the infant.

"AJ, huh? Where are his parents? Not to be rude or anything, but you are the only one who looks even remotely similar to him" Clementine looked down at the sleeping infant, remembering his real parents, who both died because of Howe's, and Carver.

"His Dad died from blood loss when he was beat by Carver. His mom… died from being sick. It was really cold and because she had just given birth, she was really weak…" Sam noticed the girl's voice changing, and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Shh, its fine. It's a touchy subject, I can see. If you don't feel comfortable speaking about it, I won't pry" Clementine looked up and smiled, feeling AJ squirm slightly in her grasp.

"Can I ask you something? Why did you attack us instead of asking us for help?" Clementine saw Sam's caring face shift to one of anger, then disappointment.

"Remember when I mentioned our supplies got stolen? Well we found more supplies after that, and we wanted to trade for some medicine for my daughter, but instead we lost everything again. I know what we did wasn't right, not anywhere near it, but I am truly sorry. We have kids, and we need to think of them first. I couldn't just leave her to die, so I got desperate and took Jerome and Gerald and said we were going to ask you guys for supplies. Then I pulled them aside and said we were robbing you. Turns out I should've just trusted you, huh?" Sam smiled weakly.

"It's ok, really. We've all done something we regret, it's a sign you're still human" Clementine smiled back.

"So, who do you have on your group?" Sam asked, leaning back against the metal wall.

"The one with the beard is Kenny. Kris is the one you were speaking to earlier. Lilly is the one driving, and Jake is in the front with her. Randy is the one next to the door, and that's his son, Gill. There's also Patricia who's beside Randy over there"

"Well, I guess I should introduce my group too. As you know, my name is Sam. The fool over there is Jerome. This is… was Gerald's daughter, Sarah. Over there is Maria, and our daughter, Jennifer, though we just tend to use Jen" Sam explained quietly. Clementine seemed lost in thought.

"How old are the kids?" Clem asked out of the blue.

"Sarah's 10, and Jen is 8. What about you and Gill, how old are you two?" Sam asked.

"I'm 12, though I'm not sure about Gill. I think he's about the same age?" Clementine then realised she had no clue how old Gill really was.

"Huh, ok. Wait, I just realised, I don't even know your name" Sam looked over at the girl, waiting for a response.

"Oh, I'm Clementine" Sam's face looked astonished and slightly puzzled.

"Clementine? Your parents named their darling daughter after a fruit?" Sam laughed quietly, earning a shove from the girl.

"Whatever" Clementine huffed, looking away.

"So, here's another question for you. Who's Lee?"

* * *

 ***A.N. HOLY FUCK**

 **So I am sorry that I have taken wayyy to long to update this story. I sort of lost motivation (got lazy) and didn't feel like writing (completely fucking forgot).  
I'm going to try and make updates a lot more consistent (well that's my hope anywho. I've recently got a new PC so it gives my friends an excuse to tell me to come be a gamer )  
In any case, I hope you enjoy this chapter, and look forward (hopefully) to a thrilling next few chapters.**


	8. Chapter 8

Clementine was nervous. Even that was an understatement for how she felt. She had to tell someone who may as well be a complete stranger something extremely personal. Her chest felt tight, yet she felt somewhat calm.

"You don't have to tell me if you aren't comfortable, it's x ok" Sam smiled, seeing the 12-year-old's face drastically change. He wasn't one to force an explanation, despite being a father himself, and seeing the girl looking almost distraught was enough for him to realize the severity of what he had just said.

"N-No, its OK. It might help me move on if I talk about him…" Clem sighed, adjusting her back against the cold steel of the truck.

"Oh, was he your father or something?" Sam questioned, shifting to face the girl.

"Yeah, you could say that" Clem sadly smiled, stroking AJ's head. The infant gurgled slightly, grabbing a hold of Clem's finger and attempting to chew on it. Sam watched with a smile at the loving bond the two obviously shared as Clementine delved into her story.

* * *

" _Why can't I come too?" A young Clementine questioned of her mother Diana as the latter packed a large black suitcase full of clothes and toiletries._

" _I'm sorry Clementine, but this isn't a trip we can take you on. Your father and I are going to Savannah on business. Daddy is going to a meeting and I'm going to be filling in at the hospital in the city. Don't worry, we'll only be gone 2 weeks, and in the meantime, we got Sandra to come watch you" Diane smiled, zipping the heavy luggage and placing it on the ground._

" _Oh…" Clementine's downtrodden reply hurt Diana. Instinctively, Diana bent down and clutched the young girl, pulling her off the ground and hugging her._

" _Don't be like that baby, it'll be fine. We'll call you before bed every night, Ok?" Diana smiled, her attempts to comfort the girl working, albeit slowly._

" _Okay…" Clementine wriggled in Diana's grip, obviously wanting to be put down. Once she was placed back down on solid ground, she ran off to her room, shutting the door. Diana watched on sadly, oblivious to her husband walking up beside her._

" _What's wrong honey?" Ed smiled, hugging his wife._

" _Its Clementine. She was really disappointed to hear she couldn't come along with us to Savannah" Ed looked over at his daughter's room, then a thought struck him._

" _Hang on, I have an idea" Ed smirked, moving past his wife into their large master bedroom. Ignoring the extra bag he was supposed to pack, he moved to the closet and swung it open, searching through. His hand brushed against a small box, which he pulled out and opened up. Inside sat large amounts of baseball memorabilia._

" _What are you doing? Isn't that your dad's baseball memorabilia?" Diana frowned, watching as her husband searched through the contents._

" _Clem loved watching baseball with Dad when he was still with us. So I thought it might make her day if I gave her Dad's favorite baseball cap. To borrow, of course" Ed smiled sadly, running his hand over the worn material. He shut the lid and placed the box back in the closet, hat still in hand._

" _I'm sure she'll be very happy about it" Diana smiled, moving to the other side of the bed and beginning to place Ed's clothes in his suitcase. Instead of interrupting, he moved out of the room and walked quietly down the hall, approaching the small flower-covered door belonging to his daughter. He stood rigid for a moment before knocking quietly on the door, peeking it open slightly._

" _Clem, honey. Can I come in?" There was no response for a few moments before a small hum from inside allowed him to enter. Ed slowly opened the door and spotted his daughter on the ground colouring in on the ground._

" _Hey, your mother told me you were a bit upset" Ed explained, sitting down on the floor next to his daughter._

" _Uh-huh…" Clementine's saddened response broke Ed's heart, though he pushed that to the side as he spoke again._

" _Well, maybe this'll help you cheer up a bit" Clementine looked over confused as Ed revealed the hat he had hidden behind his back._

" _Isn't that Grandpa's hat?" Clem innocently questioned, putting the crayon she was using down._

" _It is, but maybe wearing it while we're gone might help you relax. You can borrow it until we get back" Ed smiled, handing the hat to the girl. It took a moment before she shakily took the hat and inspected it._

" _Y'know, for only being 8, you are one of the smartest little girls I've ever seen" Clementine looked up and smiled, resizing the hat and donning it._

" _Thanks Dad!" Clem jumped up, running over and hugging Ed. He smiled and hugged the girl back. A sudden knock at the door startled Ed as Clementine released him._

" _I wonder who that could be…" Clementine grabbed Ed's hand as he walked out of the room, following as he moved to the front door and swinging it open. On the other side was a young girl, around 16 years old standing on the other side._

" _Hey Sandra. Thanks for watching Clementine on such short notice" Ed smiled as he unlocked the screen door and allowed the teenager to enter the house. He was confused as to why she was so early but he didn't mind._

" _No problem Ed. I'm happy to watch her anytime" Sandra shook Ed's hand as she entered the home, then picked up Clementine and hugged her._

" _Oh, hello Sandra. I didn't realize you were arriving so early. I thought you said you were getting here at 4?" Diana smiled, walking over and hugging the teenager._

" _Oh, I got off work early today. Boss got sick and since I'm only a casual, I cant run the store on my own. So I helped him pack up and shut early" Clementine's smile was bigger than normal as she continued to hug her teenage babysitter._

" _Well, you're here early so we might leave a bit earlier. We might be able to beat the traffic and get out there before dark" Ed took the extra bag off his wife as the two stood at the door._

" _You know the rules, Clementine. Listen to what Sandra says, and don't misbehave. If you're good, we'll bring you something back from Savannah" Diana walked over and took Clementine from Sandra, clutching her tightly._

" _I know. I'll be good, I promise!" Ed watched happily as the scene unfolded, before his phone began blaring in his pocket. Sighing, he begrudgingly grabbed the device out and answered._

" _Hello? Yes, I know. Yes, I'm aware we have the meeting. We're leaving soon. Ok, bye" Ed slid the phone back into his pocket, then grabbed his bag._

" _We should head out soon" Ed reminded his wife._

" _You're right. We'll see you in 2 weeks, ok baby girl?" Diana gently placed Clementine back on the ground, rubbing her back soothingly._

" _Ok… Bye Mom, Bye Dad" Clem followed as her parents left the front door, watching them pack the bulky luggage in the back of their car. She waved as the two drove off, before she felt Sandra's hand on her shoulder._

" _C'mon kiddo, you hungry? I'll order a pizza" Sandra offered, leading the girl back inside._

" _Ok!" Clementine smiled, following Sandra back into the house._

* * *

"So that's the last time you saw them, huh?" Sam listened with intent, soaking up every word of the girls story.

"Mhmm" Clementine nodded sadly, hugging AJ close to her.

"Well, ill admit kid, you have me hooked. What happened next?" Clementine felt a tear beginning to form in her eye, which she wiped away before Sam noticed it.

"Well, after that, for the next few days Me and Sandra played games and watched TV together. Then, my mom called from Savannah. We were both confused but Sandra answered the phone anyways" Clementine explained, diving back into her story.

* * *

" _Hey Diana, what's up?" Sandra answered, holding a can of cola and sipping it._

" _Hey Sandra. We had a bit of an incident in Savannah, so we're gonna be a few days late. Some crazy guy dressed like a zombie or something bit Ed. I think it was some sort of prank but we're in ER just in case" Sandra heard Diana sigh through the receiver._

" _Oh, ok. I hope he feels ok, wouldn't want anything happening to Ed. He's an awesome guy" Sandra looked over and saw Clementine had fallen asleep on the sofa, snoring softly._

" _Well, I'd better get going. Thank you so much again for watching our baby girl, and I promise, we'll be back before your summer break" Diana promised, hearing someone behind her calling her name._

" _No rush. If Ed isn't any better, I can always go a few days late" Sandra smiled, downing the last of her can._

" _You really are a saint, Sandra. I'll call you with any ne-" Diana's last word rang as the phone line died unexpectedly. Sandra looked at the phone, shrugging and putting the phone back on the receiver. After throwing the now empty can into the bin across the room, Sandra moved back into the living room and went to pick up Clementine, only to hear a loud thudding against the thick wooden front door. Thinking someone was there, she moved across the room and used the peephole to look out at who was knocking. A man was standing there, slouching over and growling lowly to himself. Fearing the worst, Sandra creaked the door open slightly._

" _Hello? Are you ok, sir?" Sandra asked quietly, waiting for a reaction. Instead, the slouched figure tried to grab her through the door. Squealing, Sandra slammed the door shut, cutting off two of the rotten looking figures. The smell of death and decay wafted through the house as Sandra struggled not to gag as she ran over and grabbed Clementine in her arms, waking the younger girl in the process._

" _mmm… Sandra? What's going on?" Clementine questioned sleepily, stretching out in the teenager's grip._

" _Clem, go up to your room now, and get your backpack. Put some drawing stuff in there then get back down here. GO!" Sandra ordered, grabbing her duffle bag and dumping the contents out onto the sofa, pocketing her mobile phone. As Clementine confusedly watched Sandra, she decided not to question her instructions and ran upstairs, leaving Sandra alone. With the now empty bag in hand, Sandra ran straight to the small kitchen, dumping food and water alike into the bag, filling it to the brim before zipping it up and hauling the hefty bag over her shoulder. As soon as she stepped out of the kitchen, Clementine came bounding down with her own bag, Ed's 'D' cap placed atop her head._

" _Come here kiddo, lets go" Sandra hastily grabbed Clementine's hand, running to the back door. She threw the door open and stepped out. The sounds of gunshots rang out around them, yet Sandra ignored them and ran down the stairs, across the yard to a large oak tree with an even larger treehouse sitting high in the branches. A small yet fairly sturdy rope ladder hung off the top, which Sandra grabbed onto and clambered up, Clementine hanging off her shoulders. Once up, the ladder was hastily pulled back up and hidden away inside._

" _Sandra, why are we hiding up here? What's going on?" Clementine fearfully asked, clutching the older girl and visibly shaking. Sandra didn't initially respond, peeking out of their wooden escape towards the highway. Police cars and riot vans sped past, heading away towards the massive city of Atlanta._

" _Sandra, is something happening? Are we in danger?" Clementine asked a bit louder, her voice almost giving out._

" _No Clem, we'll be fine. We have food and water, and we have a nice comfy treehouse. I think there's something happening in the city, so we're gonna camp out up here in case whatever is happening goes south" Sandra explained, still peeking out and noticing the person who had been at their door lumbering down the street, despite the blood spilling out of where his fingers used to be._

* * *

"Hiding away in the treehouse? Smart, I have to say" Sam complimented, shifting his grip on Jen.

"It worked for a while, until we ran out of food" Clementine sighed shakily, breaking open past wounds for the first time in years

"So what happened then?" Sam noticed Jen shifting a bit in his grasp, then falling back asleep.

"Next? Next is when I lost Sandra"

" _Do you have to go out?" Sandra glanced back towards the young girl, who was sitting in the middle of the floor drawing._

" _I don't like leaving you alone Clementine, but we used the last of the food I packed this morning, not to mention our water is running out. I'm going to take the bag and go inside, see if I can find any food I left behind when we raced up here" Sandra smiled, lifting the now empty bag onto her shoulder._

" _Ok… Be careful" Clementine looked down back to her drawing as Sandra swung the door open and dropped down to the ground. The thin wooden door swung shut, leaving Clementine with minimal light from the small window behind her. No sound could be heard, save from the crayon scribbling against the slips of paper. A crash resonated from inside, causing Clementine to drop her crayon and remain completely silent. No noise came, until a scream rang out. Clementine jumped up and peeked out of the door, and saw Sandra struggling against someone in the kitchen, before that person pushed against her and bit into her shoulder, before digging their hands into Sandra's stomach. In fear, Clem slammed the door shut and retreated to the other side of the treehouse. Clutching herself, Clementine sat silently in the corner, tears beginning to run down her face._

* * *

"Sandra died? Sorry you had to go through that kiddo. And at 8 years old, too. Now that I think of it, its hard to believe its already been 4 years of this shit, huh?" Clementine nodded, noticing Kenny as he stood up and stretched his back out, before moving quietly across the vehicle and sitting down in front of Sam and Clementine.

"What's going on over here?" Kenny yawned, moving to take AJ from Clementine. She obliged, handing the infant to Kenny.

"Nothing much. Clem and I were just chatting" Sam shrugged, stroking Jen's hair.

"Really? About what?" Kenny enquired, stroking AJ's growing hair.

"You might as well listen in. I was just getting to the part when Lee showed up" Clementine offered, noticing Kenny look over in interest.

"Huh, OK. Tell away kiddo" Both Kenny and Sam looked over at Clementine as she began her story again.

* * *

 _Clementine clutched her stomach slightly in pain. In the two days Sandra had been gone, Clementine had not eaten anything. There were 2 granola bars in the corner, which Clementine refused to eat until Sandra came back up. She had abandoned drawing, instead opting to simply sit in the corner, sleep when her body forced her to, and simply watch the door, waiting for Sandra to come back up._

 _Another painful gurgle ripped through the girls stomach, almost forcing her to throw up. Her eyes glanced back to the two bars in the corner, tempting her._

" _I'm sure Sandra wont mind if I have one…" Clementine stood up, moving across the small space and grabbing one of the granola bars and ripping the packaging open, engulfing the entire thing and instinctively grabbing the second bar out of pure hunger. Before she even realized what she was doing, the other bar was gone as well, leaving only two empty wrappers in the corner. Sighing in relief, Clementine looked over to the window, glancing out. Many of the monsters, like what hurt Sandra, were stumbling around aimlessly running into each other. Turning away, Clementine went to try drawing again now that she had a full stomach, before the sound of something crashing rang out behind her. She ran back to the window and noticed a police car had crashed directly into a tree, and a police officer was being dragged out of the car by the monsters. His screams echoed out, yet the mindless monsters didn't react, digging into his flesh and ripping his organs out, eating them as if they were a delectable treat. Clem gagged at the sight, hiding back inside the confines of the lastructure and trying not to vomit. After a few minutes of almost puking, another sound rang out. The sound of glass shattering, and then someone groaning in pain. Thinking someone was hurt, Clementine crawled over to the wooden door and threw the rope ladder down, clambering down and landing on her feet. She scurried quietly over to the fence to a weak spot and lifted the board, climbing through and sliding the board back into place. Quietly, Clementine snuck along the hill behind her house until a gunshot rang out close by. Clementine ran forward, eventually spotting an injured man hobbling towards the hill. He must have spotted her as he looked directly at her and called out._

" _HELLO! I'M A BIT HURT, CAN YOU HELP ME?" The voice shouted in a deep voice. Clementine was about to respond when more of the monsters came pouring out of the forest. In fear, Clementine ran away, back to the fence and climbed through, scrambling up the rope ladder and practically threw her tiny form into the tree-house, hoisting the ladder up behind her. The only sound she could hear was the growling of the monsters, until a grunt startled her. Peeking out, the same man she had seen before had climbed the fence, dropping painfully to the ground and staring at the fence keeping the rotting corpses from him. After regaining his thoughts, the next course of action was to seek help for the large wound on his leg. Grunting, the injured man lifted himself up and hobbled towards the sliding glass door, and banged on the door._

" _HELLO? I DON'T MEAN YOU ANY HARM, I JUST NEED SOME HELP" The man hollered, grabbing the door handle. To his surprise, the door was unlocked, and he gently pulled it open slightly._

" _Im coming in! Don't shoot!" The man calmly slid the door open and stepped inside. However, instead of a family trembling or men with guns, there was nothing. Blood covered the floor, and majority of the furniture was trashed._

" _Jesus, what happened…" Clementine heard the man mutter, losing sight of him. Fearfully, Clementine glanced at the hammer sitting next to the door. Her Dad had left it in there when they built the treehouse a few weeks ago. Looking out again, Clementine saw the injured man staring out the window. Behind him, the drawer with her dad's walkie talkie was open, and the device was missing. Remembering the Walkie Talkie, Clementine grabbed the second handset and held it up to her mouth, whispering into the receiver._

" _H-Hello?" Clementine stuttered through the handset. She could see the man jump slightly, before grasping the walkie talkie and clicking it on._

" _Hello? Who's there?" The deep voice rung through, rattling her slightly._

" _You need to be quiet, or the monsters will hear you" Clementine warned, opening the door and peeking out._

" _Where are you? Are you safe?" The man asked, looking out the window._

" _I'm up in my treehouse. The monsters cant get to me up here. Can you see me? I can see you" Clementine asked, staring straight at the man speaking to her._

" _Yeah, I can" The man smiled, waving to her. Before she could respond, one of the monsters began approaching the unsuspecting man. In fear, she squeaked and retreated back into the treehouse. The loud snarling of the monster rang out even from within the house. Clementine sat still for a moment in fear, before realizing just how lonely she was._

" _No, I wont leave him! I'll help him, and he can help me find my parents" Clementine with a sudden burst of courage grasped the hammer, before swinging the door open and throwing the hammer to the ground. Not bothering with the ladder, Clementine leapt down and landed awkwardly, before jumping up and grabbing the hammer. With the weighty tool now in hand, the child ran to the stairs, running up the wooden stairs and opening the door as the man struggled with the monster on top of him._

" _Here!" Clementine squeaked, holding the hammer out to him. He turned with a pained look, before taking the hammer and bringing it down on the monsters head, forcing it to the ground. 3 more bludgeoning slugs cracked the skull and spread brain matter across the carpeted floor. Clementine watched in horror, the only words coming out of her mouth was "Ew". Puffing, the man turned back to Clementine, standing up and moving towards her, before crouching in front of her._

" _Hey there. What's your name?" The man asked politely, placing his hand on her shoulder._

" _M-My name is Clementine" Clementine fearfully replied, looking away._

" _Hello Clementine. I'm Lee. Where are you parents?"_

" _T-They're in Savannah… I just want them to come home…" Clementine replied, tears threatening to show themselves._

" _I don't think they're coming back for a while" Lee broke the news to the young girl, noticing her facial features change drastically._

" _Oh…" Clem looked down at her feet._

" _Ill tell you what, come with me, we'll go find somewhere safe, then we'll find your parents. Ok?" Clem looked up, smiling._

" _Ok! But somewhere close, right?" Clementine stepped back as Lee lumbered out of the door, closing the glass behind him._

" _Of course. C'mon, lets go" Lee smiled, taking the young girls hand._

* * *

"So that's how Lee found you? You saved his ass?" Kenny chuckled, looking around the truck.

"Yeah. After that, we found Shawn and Chet, and they took us to the farm where we met you. After that, you know the rest" Clementine concluded, stretching slightly in the confines of the truck.

"Anything else important about him?" Sam asked purely out of curiosity.

"Aside from the fact that he got bitten, but still persevered and tracked down Clementine, saved her and gave her the essential tools to survive? Not that I can think of" Kenny explained with a hint of sarcasm.

"Woah, no need to get aggressive. I was just asking, jeez" Sam looked away, still stroking Jen's hair.

"Sorry, just in a bit of a bad mood. I get snappy when I'm tired" Kenny apologized, looking over at their new companion.

"You also snore really loud" Clementine giggled, watching as Kenny turned back to her with a grin on his face.

"I do not. I never snore" Kenny tried to defend himself, yet it didn't work, due to Lily piping in from the front.

"She's right Kenny, you do snore. Remember who slept in a room directly next to you" Lily chuckled, earning a glare from Kenny.

"She's right, even Lee would say some nights that he could hear you even across the motel" Clementine's giggles turned into full laughs, even Lily chuckling from the front added to the whole ordeal.

"Alright Alright, I get it. Apparently I snore" Kenny chuckled, glancing down as AJ woke up and gurgled happily at Kenny.

"Well, you guys may as well wake everyone. We're almost out of gas" Lily noted, looking at the almost empty fuel gauge.

"Clem, you wanna get on that? The two of us kinda have kids" Kenny shrugged, motioning to the rest of the trucks occupants.

"Ok" Clementine nodded, standing up. She made her rounds waking the rest of the occupants up, save for the other kids, right as the truck began spluttering and slowing down, until it died completely and stopped.

"End of the line folks. Everyone out" Lilly hollered from the front, taking the keys and hiding them behind the seat. Winter stood up and stretched first, before lifting the door and engulfing the group in the evening light.

"We should camp here for the night, then leave first light tomorrow. It's too dangerous to try and travel at night" Kris mentioned as he stretched out and jumped out of the truck.

"He's right. We can set up a fire and camp here" Randy commented, stepping out of the truck with a drowsy Gill. Everyone else followed suite, save for Kenny, who was moving the boxes to the door of the truck to be taken out by the others. Clementine had AJ cradled in her arms, tickling the infant and getting loud happy gurgles out of him.

"He's really cute" Clementine almost jumped, turning and seeing the young girl Sam had, Jen, standing behind her. Noticing her surprise, Jen immediately ran up and hugged Clementine, almost crushing AJ.

"Oh, did I scare you? I'm sorry!" Clementine glanced down at the slightly distraught young girl, then back over to Sam, who smiled and turned to continue helping Kenny and Kris.

"I'll be back in a few. I'm going to go see if I can find any wildlife in the area" Jake appeared from around the truck, a rifle with a large black barrel hanging off his shoulder. On his hip hung a machete no-one else had noticed before, as well as a pair of binoculars and a small pouch.

"The fuck Jake, where did you find that shit?" Kris questioned amusedly, crossing his arms.

"Well, the machete was in front of the truck, as well as the binoculars. The pouch I found at the gas station, and the rifle is yours, dipshit" Kris glanced over and noticed the large extension on the rifle.

"Wait, that is my rifle! Where the hell was that, I thought we left it at Howes?" Kris questioned again, now curious more than anything.

"It was in the front. You dropped it on the roof, and I threw it in the truck after I went up there as we were packing the supplies" Jake shrugged, taking the strap off and handing the hefty rifle back to Kris, but instead of grasping the weapon, Kris pushed it back to Jake. His friend looked at him skeptically, earning a simple shrug from Kris.

"What? I'm not going hunting, you are. Might as well keep yourself hidden and catch a good meal" Jake simply looked at Kris, smirking. He re-holstered the rifle and moved away towards the forest, disappearing in almost an instant. After a moment of watching the forest, Kenny sighed and grabbed his own handgun and a knife and followed Jake into the spanning forest.

"Where's Kenny going? He's gonna get himself killed" Winter questioned, unloading another box with Kris.

"He used to go hunting with Lee and Mark when we were back at the motor inn. He'll be fine" Lilly shrugged, watching the forests for walkers.

"Hey Clem, why don't you take the other pair of binoculars and watch for walkers? Ill help you get on top of the truck so you can see" Winter offered, throwing the second pair of binoculars to Clementine.

"I can get up on my own" Clem argued, moving to the truck.

"Really? Ok Miss Monkey, show me" Winter smirked, walking to watch Clementine climb the truck. Smirking, Clementine took a few steps back and sprinted towards the truck. She planted on the front wheel and used her momentum to push herself on top of the bonnet, then clambered up the front and stood atop the large bed of the truck. Winter was in awe, mainly because the way Clementine clumsily climbed like that reminded her of the only other kid who would hang out with her.

" _It cant be a coincidence. She ran exactly like Molly. Maybe… maybe she knows what happened to her_ " Winter was snapped out of her trance by a can hitting her in the gut. Without even realizing, her hand went straight to her gut and she doubled over in pain

"Winter, you still with us?" Kris bent down next to her, throwing the can to Lily before placing a soothing hand on her shoulder.

"Y-Yeah, I'm good. You just surprised me, is all" Winter coughed, sucking large amounts of air back into her body.

"Ok, if you say so. Sorry for hitting you in the gut, I was aiming in front of you to get your attention" Kris apologized, helping the teen back to her feet. Before Winter could respond a gunshot rang out, startling the group. Clementine, having been watching up the road for walkers, instantly spun around and looked through the forest as a second gunshot rang out. Multiple followed, and they sounded as though they were getting closer.

"Shit, not more bandits…" Sam sighed, readying his rifle as Jerome did the same. A line of assorted firearms were aimed directly at the forest as Jake and Kenny ran out, both struggling to hold up a large deer. A single, red hole in its forehead confirmed it was dead, but Kris couldn't help but act a little suspicious.

"Goddamn this fucker can run" Kenny huffed, shifting the weight of the hulking animal on his shoulder, not noticing the row of guns pointed at him.

"You're telling me. I need to grease the bolt on this thing, it got stuck 4 times while we were chasing him down" Jake grunted, barely holding up the back end of the deer. Kenny shifted his eyes down as he adjusted his grip, before looking up and seeing the row of guns pointed directly at him.

"The fuck?!" Kenny hollered, almost dropping the carcass.

"Kenny? What was with all the gunshots? We thought something had happened, you idiot!" Kris called back, lowering his gun as the others did the same.

"Jake's rifle kept jamming, and I didn't exactly want to wait for him to fix it, or this here deer would've gotten away. Thankfully, he ran right towards you guys" Kenny explained, moving with Jake as the two carried the deer to the back of the truck and dumped it on the bed. The truck shifted slightly, causing Clementine to lose her balance. She dropped the binoculars and tried to grab onto the side of the truck, but her hands slipped off the side and instead she fell off, trying desperately to find something to cushion her fall. Being the closest, Jake ran and dove forward, catching Clementine and slamming hard into the pavement. Small shards of gravel tried to cut into Jake's arm, however surprisingly nothing pierced the skin.

"T-Thanks" Clementine coughed, standing up and leaning against the truck. Jake slowly rose as well, rubbing his arms and cracking his back.

"Clementine? The hell were you doing on top of the truck?" Clementine turned and saw Kenny approach her, crouching down to her height.

"Don't get up her, It was my idea. She wasn't doing anything of importance and I didn't want walkers creeping up on us, so I gave her my binoculars and she climbed up the truck to watch for any stragglers" Winter intervened.

"Bit irresponsible for you to put the 12-year-old on top of a truck, don't you think?" Kenny asked skeptically, standing back up.

"Yes, and if everyone else wasn't trying to unpack the truck, I would've done it myself" Winter shrugged. Before Kenny could get another word in, a groan broke through as dozens of walkers poured out of the forest, approaching quickly. One latched onto Jerome, who screamed and flailed, managing to plant his foot on the walker's chest and pry it off him. Everyone else had already taken their respective weapons and began hacking, slicing and stabbing any walker that got close. Bodies began piling up heavily, and the stench of decay picked up heavily, yet no-one slowed down. The only people not fighting were the children, who were hiding behind Clementine and Winter, pointing out any walkers going unnoticed to everyone else. Anyone that got too close that the other group members couldn't get to were quickly eliminated by a bullet from the now smoking handgun held by Clementine. Eventually, the walkers were dispatched, and the group moved back towards the back where the children were cowering. A collective sigh of relief swept the entire group, and their minds went straight to food. Their last few cans were saved for the walk to Savannah, meaning any other food they would have to find themselves. Thankfully, the size of the deer would mean they would have plenty of food for the night, and whatever they didn't eat they could bag and snack on. Thinking ahead, Kris began giving out instructions to the group.

"Ok, Sam. You, Jerome and Maria are on firewood. We have a big deer here so big chunks of wood would be very helpful right now. Clem, you and Winter look for some big rocks we can use the enclose the fire. Kenny, you and Jake are on skinning. Lilly, you, me and Randy can go make sure the area is secure" Everyone nodded and moved to do their respective tasks, aside from Patricia.

"I'll watch the kids if you don't mind. I'm really not much for manual labour" Kris nodded, then watched as Patricia led Gill and the other two children off to the front of the truck to find some way to entertain them.

"This definitely isn't a permanent solution, setting up big fires at night for food. We really need to get a move on and get to Savannah, find someplace to set up permanently" Lily pointed out as the three moved to check the roads and the scrub for any more walkers.

"There's nowhere I can think of in the city we can hole up. If we're finding somewhere to stay, I say we choose somewhere outside the city limits, where there'll be less walkers" Randy agreed, walking down the road and scanning the foliage around them.

"Speaking of Savannah, why were you so dead set on getting there?" Kris questioned, still watching for any signs of movement.

"Do you want me to be honest? I didn't have any initial plans to go near Savannah. I sort of just sprouted out Savannah since I remembered a dying survivor tell me there's a safe haven down there. If I had any other ideas, I would be heading somewhere else, but there was a massive herd heading towards us. Bigger than anything I've ever seen. I knew we needed to get out of the area, since the damn things basically spanned together for miles" Randy explained, slightly ashamed.

"So we basically have no plan, no idea what we're doing, going off a pipe dream from a dead man?" Kris accused, stopping in his tracks.

"I know it was irresponsible, but I had my family to protect. Not to mention, your group seemed to be decent people, and I didn't want to see any of you get hurt, especially young Clementine. It's really not often you see a little girl like her around here" Randy explained hurriedly, looking down to the ground.

"I understand, but Savannah? We're going right out of our way here man. Beside, Howe's could've worked. If we holed up and kept down, the walkers would've wandered straight past" Kris pointed out, turning back and walking towards the truck as the other two followed next to him.

"I know, but I was thinking in the moment. We've suffered through herds before, and there's only so much one person can handle" Randy sighed in defeat. Any respect or trust he had was right out the window.

"That's a fair call, but next time, try talking first about the matter instead of jumping straight to run like hell, ok?" Randy nodded as the three continued on to the truck. After another few moments, they arrived and saw Kenny and Jake had finished skinning the deer and had already gotten it roasting over the large fire underneath.

"Nothings in the area, and if nothing goes wrong, this baby should be ready to eat by nightfall" Kenny explained, prodding the fire and feeding a few extra logs in.

"Well, unless I can't read, there's a large Ski Resort down this highway we can stay in for a few days before we make it to Savannah" Patricia noted as she randomly appeared from the front of the truck with Gill, Jen and Sarah in tow.

"Ski resort? No, absolutely not" Kenny piped in from the fire.

"Why the hell not Kenny? We're gonna freeze out here if we don't find someplace to sleep" Randy refuted, defending his wife.

"Because unlike you people, I know that place. And I know that the body of one of my close friends is probably still rotting away in there" Kenny snapped darkly, tending to the fire. Nobody tried to interject again, and instead sighed and turned away. No words were spoken, the only sound being the fire quietly crackling in the background. Silence filled the void, until it was broken by a meek voice.

"Kenny, I know Walter was your friend, and I know you lost a lot because of Luke and his group, but we have AJ, and Sam's kids, and me to think of. We're kids Kenny, and unlike you, we cant survive in the cold for weeks on end. If the ski resort can provide some shelter for us from the cold, cant we put the past aside for a while and just stay there for just a night? I know a few places on the way we can find more shelter until we make it to Savannah" Kenny simply turned and glared at Clementine. Had she been your innocent 8-year-old self, Clementine would've slunk away apologizing. But now, she was hardened, and returned the glare with one made of pure ice.

"Fine. But you lot are helping me bury Walter" Kenny grumbled, poking at the roasting deer.

"I think that's a fair trade. In any case, we get some winks before the deer is roasted. Once we eat, we'll pack what we don't eat and take it with us" Kris suggested, yawning.

"You guys get some sleep. I'll stay awake and watch the deer, make sure we don't burn it" Kenny offered, throwing the charred stick into the fire and retrieving a new one from the pile.

"I'll sit up with you for a while. I can't sleep this early anyways" Sam shrugged, moving over and sitting next to Kenny on the pavement.

"Sounds good. The rest of you, get some sleep. We've got a long walk ahead of us" Everyone else nodded and moved back into the truck for the last time, falling asleep quickly.

* * *

 ***A.N.**

 **There's nothing important I really need to include here, so enjoy your day :3**


	9. Chapter 9

***A.N. quick thing before the story. So someone did comment last chapter asking about Lee. My comment of "shh, patience my child :3" still stands, as it may or may not be revealed soon…**

* * *

"Everyone packed?" Kris spoke aloud to the group as he searched his backpack to confirm he had absolutely every last item from the truck.

"Looks like it, trucks completely empty" Kenny piped up, slamming the door to the bed shut.

"We're all packed. Waiting on you" Sam gave his all clear as he helped his daughter to tighten her backpack so it wouldn't slide off. No-one else said anything, but it was clear everyone else would have said the same thing.

"Well, there's really nothing left here except for an empty truck. We should go, especially before any walkers decide to show up" Lily reasoned, still scanning the foliage for any signs of walkers. She was however startled by a loud pop resonating from the truck.

"What the fuck?" Kris drew his pistol and crept to the backside of the truck, then slunk around and aimed directly down the other side of the truck, finding only Winter crouching next to the front wheel, wielding a knife.

"What are you doing?" Kris questioned, holstering his gun.

"Popping the tires. We're abandoning the truck, and I don't want to leave a perfectly good empty truck out in the middle of nowhere" Winter shrugged, plunging the blade into the next tire, earning an oddly satisfying pop followed by a hiss of air.

"If you're done, we need to go" Kris joked, stepping in front of the truck with the group not too far behind. After a mutual unsure glance around, with everyone staring back at the truck for the last time, the survivors abandoned the vehicle and continued their trek.

* * *

"Daddy, my feet are getting sore" Kenny heard Jen complain quietly, struggling to keep pace with the fast-moving group as they trudged along the dirt path that Jake had spotted a few hours ago. According to the map, if they followed down the path, it would lead them to the ski-resort they were looking for. Once there, they could continue on past and hopefully make it to Savannah.

"I know honey, but its not too much farther. Once we make it to the ski resort, you can rest there" Sam explained simply, grabbing hold of Jen to keep her in pace. Without thinking, Kenny slowed his pace and ended up at the end of the pack.

"Couldn't help but hear missy here is a bit sore. Want me to give her a piggyback for a bit?" Kenny offered, looking down and seeing Jen smile at him.

"I don't see why not. Just be careful, you are decently tall" Sam warned, stopping for a moment to pick up the slender child and help place her on Kenny's shoulders.

"Don't forget to thank Kenny, Jen" Maria reminded of her daughter as she gently carried Sarah, who was asleep.

"Thank you, Mr. Kenny." Jen lightly patted the bearded man's hat, then laid against the soft fabric.

"Gotta say; for only being 8, she's surprisingly mature" Kenny commented as he brought up the rear with Sam and Maria.

"It's weird, huh? She should be in school right now, learning her colours and shapes, but instead, here we are. Time sure flies, huh?" Sam sighed, looking around the forest.

"No kidding. She must've been, what, four when this happened?"

"Yep. It's sort of unfair on both of them. They shouldn't have to live like this; constantly in fear of losing everything because of some stupid virus" Maria commented.

"No kidding. Clem up there has lost more than a girl her age should've. She's seen her dead parents, watched her mentor die in front of her, and lose an entire group of people she came to see as family. Not to mention one of her only friends…" Kenny finished on an odd silence, staring down at the ground.

"It must've been hard on her, losing so many people at such a young age" The three stayed silent for a moment, before Kenny picked up his pace and caught up to Clementine.

"Hey darling, you doing alright?" Clementine gave a hum of approval, not bothering to look up from the path.

Deciding not to pry, he gently grabbed Clementine's backpack and took it off her shoulders, hoisting onto his own. Clementine tried to grab the backpack off him, to no avail.

"Give me my backpack back!" Clementine shouted childishly, trying to grab the floral pack from Kenny.

"Calm down Clem, I'm carrying it for you. Don't want you snapping your back or nothing" Kenny reasoned, keeping the backpack out of reach as soft giggles emanated from Jen.

"I can handle it, I'm not a little kid" Clementine grumbled, looking down again.

"I know you aint mentally, but physically, you're 12 kiddo. We aren't far off now, then you can have it back. Ok?" Clementine nodded, obviously ignoring Kenny now. No-one else at the back said anything, opting to instead stay quiet and scan the trees for any signs of walkers or bandits. The only people speaking were Kris and Jake, who were joking and laughing at the front. Deciding he was bored, Kenny rejoined the two at the front, carrying Jen atop his head.

"What are you two laughing about?" Kenny asked as he caught up to Jake.

"Nothing much. Just remembering back when I used to work at this old fish and chip place near home. There was this old lady who came in one time and had a long ass rant because we didn't have a certain type of fish" Jake laughed.

"If you think that's funny, try working with one of my old fishing buddies. He would always take a bottle of booze with him when we went out, and one time there was a bit of a strong storm, and the bottle fell overboard. Long story short, he actually locked himself in his cabin and refused to come out until we got back to the mainland and found a liquor store with the same booze" Kris was starting to go red in the face from laughing, and Jake was about the same. Even Kenny was starting to laugh as well.

"I swear, people were always weird, weren't they?" Kris laughed, taking in large amounts of air in a desperate attempt to not suffocate himself because of his laughter.

"In Florida they were. Speaking of, where did you two grow up?" Kenny asked curiously, realising their accents were both not anything American.

"Australia, Jake too. We both went to the same primary school and the same high school. Honestly, it was kind of like fate that we became friends" Kris joked, kicking a rock in the path at a tree.

"What, did you just notice we sound different?" Jake questioned.

"Well, kinda. We haven't exactly had a normal conversation in quite a while, and there hasn't really been a time to question it yet" Kenny shrugged, noticing a few walkers shambling on the path ahead.

"Got a couple of stragglers ahead" Kris noted, grabbing out his knife as Jake did the same.

"Be back in a sec." Kenny watched the two race off and work basically in tandem to clear the walkers. One would kick a walker's knee out, and the other would stab the downed walker. The same would go on until the group of walkers were dead. Kris motioned for the group that it was safe as the two tried to catch their breath.

"You two may as well be pros at this. You cleared those fuckers pretty damn quick" Kenny complimented as Kris and Jake took the lead once again.

"At this point, we have to find someway to spice it up at times. Stabbing walkers gets kind of boring after a while, so we sort of just clear walkers in different ways each time. Hell, sometimes we even make a game out of it. See who can get the most walkers" Jake puffed, grabbing a bottle of water out of his pack and swigging it.

"Up there! There's a big building!" Jen piped in, having obviously woken up from the noise.

"Is there a bunch of poles near it?" Kenny questioned, looking for whatever Jen had seen.

"Yeah, and a big fan!" Jen pointed up the mountain, as they barely glanced at the crumbling railway bridge.

"Is that what we're looking for?" Kris asked of Kenny, who nodded.

"Fucking finally. It's gonna be nice to get some sleep in an actual bed" Jake muttered, waving the group on as they began trekking up the mountain.

"Uh guys, I'm not sure about this place" Randy commented, grabbing his gun out.

"What makes you say that?" Patricia asked, looking around.

"There's lights on in there" Everyone stopped in their tracks and looked directly at the illuminated lodge.

"Fuck, you're right. Well, what now? They could be hostile" Kris noted, drawing his own gun.

"We should at least see if they'll let us stay tonight. Everyone's sore and cranky, and we still have a few weeks of solid walking ahead of us" Clementine emphasised, pushing past the group.

"She's right. Let's go at least see if they're hospitable. If not, we leave. Simple." Lilly agreed, following the 12 year old. No-one else argued, instead they all followed Clementine as they reached the deck of the building. Kenny then planted his ear against the wall, listening for anything.

"I don't hear nothing. It might be empty" Kris ended up taking the lead as he approached the flimsy glass door and peeked in, seeing no-one inside.

"Alright, stay back. I'm going to open the door and see if there is anyone inside" Everyone nodded, stepping back from the door as Kris swung it open slowly and peeked inside.

"Hello? Is anyone in there?!" Kris hollered, knocking his gun against the door frame.

"Might be abandoned. Let's check it out" Jake walked to the door and stepped inside, Kris following suite as the door clicked shut behind them. An awkward silence descended on the large group, as they stood rigidly, ready for anything to happen. No sound came from the still boarded interior, it was unnervingly silent.

"Somethings not right. I don't trust this" Sam whispered skeptically, moving to the door. Before Sam could take hold of the handle, the door swung open to reveal Kris and Jake, who were both covered in crimson blood and small splotches of decaying brain matter. Whether out of surprise or instinct, Sam immediately backed up and drew his gun, scanning the two. Seeing no threat, he relaxed and holstered his gun.

"What happened in there?" Kenny pushed past the others, addressing Kris and Jake.

"Couple walkers. Just came out to grab Sam so we can clear the rest of the damn things out" Kris explained nonchalantly, wiping brain matter off his face.

"Whatever" Sam grumbled, following the two inside as the door slammed shut.

"Guess I might as well go check the perimeter. If we're stayin' here, I don't want to leave our front door open for walkers or bandits" Kenny began wandering off, drawing his handgun. Surprisingly, Lilly followed along, drawing her own gun.

"Hey Clem, you still got my bino's?" Winter asked, leaning against the cold glass wall.

"Yeah, they're in my backpack" Clementine reached into her pack, grabbing the small viewfinder out and moving to hand it to Winter.

"Nah, not for me. Use the picnic tables and shit, get a lay of the land and see if there are any walkers; or groups, approaching" Winter ordered with a smirk, motioning to the masses of wooden tables littered around the place.

"Sure" Clementine retracted her hand and scurried over to the closest table, climbing on top and lifting the binoculars to her eyes.

* * *

*Elsewhere*

* * *

"That them?" A prone figure questioned, his eye never leaving his scope.

"Yep. Looks like the little shits found a new group to ruin" The larger of the two sneered.

"They're all armed, we don't stand a chance in a firefight. I'll stick here, monitor them and signal you on my radio if anything changes. You go get the rest of the group, bring them here and get them ready for a fight" The prone form waved the bulkier man off, grabbing his radio that was clipped to his belt and placing it closer to his face, making sure to turn the volume down considerably as to not attract walkers.

"They'll see us coming though. Plus, that bridge isn't looking too stable" The larger man pointed out, eyeing the rickety old railway bridge.

"Wait till night, move under the cover of darkness… Hold up" The armed man shushed his companion as his eye caught something interesting. Across the lake, slightly up the mountain was a child, standing on something and scanning the area with a pair of binoculars.

"What? Herd or something?" The bigger man questioned worriedly, drawing his gun.

"No no, nothing like that. There's a kid up there looking over the canyon. Wait till she leaves then go get the others" With a huff, the prone man was left alone as his partner sneaked into the bushes and slunk away.

"Or not…"

* * *

*Back at the lodge*

* * *

"Anything of note?" Clementine almost jumped, spinning and seeing surprisingly Maria behind her, who sat down on the chair beside her.

"Nothing really. I thought I saw someone on the rocks over there, but I think it was just an animal" Clem explained, her eyes returning to the binoculars.

"Oh, that's good…" Maria trailed off, now staring at the ground. An awkward silence descended over the two as Clementine stared intently off the edge through the binoculars, before after a few moments Maria spoke again; "So Clementine, can I ask you something?"

"…sure" Clementine answered uneasily.

"Forgive me for saying this, but how much do you trust your group?" Maria's bluntness stunned Clementine for a moment, before the binoculars dropped out of her hands, dangling off the cord attached to her hand.

"Excuse me? How dare you!" Clementine snapped to the mother, who flinched at her tone.

"I'm sorry to ask, but I have two children, I want to make sure they're safe. Jake seems like a nice guy, but Kris sort of scares me at times. And Kenny always seems angry…" Maria trailed off, which Clementine couldn't put past her. She did ask a very touchy question, though she had every regard to.

"Sorry, it's just… our last group constantly voiced their complaints about Kenny, saying he was "unstable" and "not right in the head". He's a good person, but he's just grieving. This is simply how he copes. It was the same back in Savannah" Clementine explained, sighing.

"What happened in Savannah, if you don't mind me asking?" Maria inquired, leaning against the table.

"He had a wife and kid, back when this started. We were living in a motel outside of a place called Macon I think, but bandits forced us to leave. When the bandits attacked, they let walkers in, and one managed to bite his son Duck. We left the motel in this RV, and we managed to find a working train, but after a while my guardian Lee realized he was going to turn. When the train stopped, Lee offered to "take care" of Duck, but Katjaa said she was going to. One gunshot went off, and both Lee and Kenny dashed into the forest. When they came back, the two of them got back on and we left without Katjaa. When I asked Lee later, he told me she shot herself. Kenny was angry and upset for so long…" Clementine stiffened slightly, then rubbed her arms and climbed off the table animatedly.

"Clem? What's wrong?" Maria stood up, walking around and placing her hands on the child's shoulder.

"N-Nothing…" Clem shook her hand off and walked away, leaving Maria alone.

" _I've nearly died, been bit by a dog and killed hundreds of walkers. Why does he scare me still?_ " Clem wondered, walking back to the lodge.

"Any more up there Jake!?" Kris hollered, ripping his quickly blunting screwdriver out of the walkers decomposing skull.

"None! What about you Sam?!" Jake called out from upstairs, throwing a corpse down off the small loft into a pile of other bodies.

"FUCK!" Sam's voice rung out, along with the snarls of multiple walkers.

"Shit!" Kris was on his feet in an instant, running towards the source of the noise. Jumping the counter, he saw Sam pinned against a wall, using an old pan as a muzzle for one of the walkers while he held the other one by the throat against the other wall.

"A little help here?!" Sam hollered as sweat began to form on his forehead. Kris quickly grabbed the one not being muzzled and threw it to the ground, before he stomped on its head and spread brain matter across the laminate floor. Then before he could react, he watched Sam's grip falter and drop the pan, allowing the walker to freely advance its gnashing teeth towards the unguarded neck before it. The bite never came, as a single round clipped the walkers jaw, sending it and Sam tumbling to the hard floor. Taking the opportunity, Kris slammed his heel against the walker's head, killing it as well.

"F-Fuck. Thanks" Sam wheezed, shakily climbing to his feet. As he tried to stand however, he then toppled again.

"Here, hold onto me. I'll walk you out to the couches" Kris offered as Jake appeared around the corner, gun drawn and scanning the room.

"Nice shot Jake, where'd you learn to shoot like that?" Kris complimented as his companion hunched over to assist Sam.

"Shot? What are you on about? I heard Sam shout and literally fell down the fucking stairs" Jake asked confusedly.

"Wait, what? But, someone shot that walker" Kris asked equally confused. Sam said nothing as he groggily held onto Kris and Jake.

"The hell is going on in here?! A shot just went through the damn window!" Kenny's gruff voice barked as he almost kicked the door in.

"That wasn't you either? If it wasn't you guys, who the hell shot the walker?" Kris questioned, laying Sam down on the couch.

* * *

*Elsewhere*

* * *

"FUCK!"

"How in the hell did you miss that easy of a shot?" The taller bandit asked bemused.

"Oh, I don't know. Wind, distance, 3 inches of plywood and glass, and a narrow view to begin with. Be lucky I hit anything in the first place" The bandit with the rifle growled, loading a new round into the chamber.

"Suuuure. Well good job anyways, they know someone's in the area. Good on you. Now we've lost the element of surprise" The taller man explained sarcastically, lighting a cigarette.

"Go to hell" The sniper muttered.

"Frontal assault it is! BOYS, LET'S GO EARN OUR KEEP" The taller man shouted into the bush, as 20 other masked bandits wielding crossbows, rifles, some even with AK's.

"Sam and his little escapade cost us a lot of resources, and a few lives. This cannot go unpunished!" The leader roared, drawing his own weapon. A simple Model 10 revolver loaded and primed.

"LET'S GET 'EM BOYS!" A joint war-cry pieced the air, as the bandits made their way to the bridge.

* * *

*Back at the lodge once again* (don't question me)

* * *

"Winter, I don't think I even want to know what the hell you're doing" Lily sighed, looking up to the roof and seeing the white-haired girl sitting on the edge, laying back slightly.

"I'm relaxing, chill" Winter replied casually, waving her hand to the woman.

"If you're going to be sitting up there, at least use some binoculars and keep an eye out" Lily sighed, taking her pair of binoculars and throwing them up to the teen.

"Sure, whate-" Winter grumbled, bringing her eyes to the small device. As soon as they met, her eyes went wide.

"What, what is it?" Lily questioned, looking around.

"Fuck. Get everyone ready, we have a fight coming" Winter ordered, standing up and drawing her gun, then dashing over to a nearby air conditioning unit.

"How many?" Lily called out, taking cover near the door.

"At least like 30, I don't know!" Winter replied hurriedly.

"fuck fuck fuck, alright. How long we got?" Lily questioned, moving to the door.

"15 minutes, at most" Winter replied.

"Gotcha" Lily called out one last time as she threw the door open, and scanned for anyone.

"Kris, Sam! Get out here, we got a problem!" Lily hollered, then noticed at the top of the room Clementine appear. Running past her was Jake and Kenny, who both had heard the commotion.

"What is it?" Kenny questioned hastily as Sam and Kris came out from behind the counter, both holding a walker corpse on their shoulders.

"Bandits, at least 30 of them from what Winter said" Lily explained, noticing Sam looking nervous and uncomfortable.

"Shit, alright. Where's Winter?" Kris questioned, moving past with the walkers and dumping them outside.

"Roof. I'd suggest giving her your rifle, since it's got that silencer or whatever on it" Lily suggested, holding the door open as they exited.

"Alright. Where's Randy and Jerome?" Jake asked, exiting behind them.

"Randy's upstairs with Maria and Patricia, keeping an eye on the kids. Jerome, I have no clue" Sam answered, drawing his gun.

"Over here!" The 5 spun around and saw Jerome exiting the brush, a rabbit tightly clutched in either hand.

"Put the fucking rabbits down, we got bandits incoming!" Sam snapped a little harshly. Jerome stiffened, then nodded.

"If we can, keep the crossfire out here. We can't have any stray shots fly into the lodge and injure someone" Kris ordered, taking leadership of the situation.

"What about me?" Kris spun around and saw Clementine behind him.

"Clem, why are you out here?" Kenny questioned, grabbing the underside of a picnic table and flipping it over.

"I'm not just going to sit around, I want to help" Clementine responded, a tone of seriousness evident in her voice.

"Not here you aren't. I'll throw a spool of rope to Winter. Take my rifle and climb the rope, give her the rifle, then slide down and go back inside. If any bandits get past, I need you and Randy ready to get rid of them" Kris explained simply, sliding the long black rifle off his shoulder.

"Oh, ok" Clem sounded a slight bit defeated but obliged.

"Hang on darlin'" Kenny's southern drawl caused her ears to perk up as she spun back around, watching Kenny take his own rifle off his back. He handed the second gun to the child, who slung it onto her shoulder with the other.

"You right there Clem?" Jake asked, moving to take one of the bulky guns.

"I'm fine. What do you want me to do with this?" Clementine swatted his hand away, then turned to Kenny who had a grin stretched across his bearded face.

"Sit up on the roof, use the ground to steady the rifle and shoot the bandits. If you can get up there soon, you and Winter can start to pick some of them off now" Kenny explained, earning a glare from Lily.

"No fucking way. She'll either get spotted or the knockback will throw her off the damn roof" Lily argued, to no avail.

"She's strong enough to handle it, it'll be fine" Kenny waved the fuming woman off as the distant bellows of enraged bandits began filling the air.

"Fuck that. Clem, give Winter Kenny's rifle and you take mine. It's got more power but a shitton less recoil. Plus, you wont deafen yourself with it" Kris ordered, taking a stray spool of rope and throwing it, arcing it onto the roof.

"Winter! Grab that and haul Clementine up!" Kris hollered. Before she could respond, realization seemed to have hit him as he ran back inside, leaving a confused Winter to shrug off the weirdness and oblige his request. She took a hold of the spool, throwing the rest down and holding firmly onto the other end.

"Grab on, ill pull you up!" Winter called down, bracing herself on the unit. Clementine nodded, grabbing the bottom of the rope and tying it around her hand, before pulling once to tell Winter she was ready and bracing her feet together against the rope. She felt herself getting tugged, before her feet left the ground as she was slowly dragged up the side of the lodge. All the while, Kris had managed to find the duffel of guns, and drag out 4 AK's that were left at Howe's. Grabbing the ammo bag and slinging it over his shoulder, he clumsily took ahold of the 4 guns and walked back to the door, throwing it open. Lily was the only one to turn around, and barely managed to catch the gun being thrown to her.

"Kenny, Jake!" Kris hollered, throwing the two their own respective guns. He then threw the ammo bag on the ground and grabbed a handful of magazines, the others following suite.

"Alright, we good to go?" Kris shouted, taking cover on the deck behind a pillar.

"I've got eyes on the entire hill from here!" Winter hollered, aiming down Kenny's rifle scope.

"Good. Don't open fire till I do" Kris called out to everyone, aiming his gun down the hill.

* * *

 ***A.N. So, it's uh, been a bit huh?**

 **Mad writes block, i legitimately could not write jack shit for weeks. Not to mention exams and assignments coming up, prohibiting me from writing too extensively seeing as i sort of needed to study for all of my exams.**

 **But enough excuses.**

 **Chapter 10 is in the works now (we have a grand total of 1000 words so far; expect it soon) so hopefully this will sate you all for a little while (ok it really wont but still)  
**

 **Anyways, enjoy life i guess**

 **Kris  
**


	10. Chapter 10

"Here's one" A feminine voice resounded, pointing to a deceased man handcuffed to a radiator. The walker snarled and snapped, trying desperately to break free of its restraints to eat the meal presented to it. Broken glass coated its legs, a broken vase next to it. A dead walker sat a few feet away, a single bullet messily shot into its skull.

"You sure you want this guy?" A broader man clad in Kevlar, wielding a pump action shotgun questioned.

"Yes, I'm sure. Muzzle him, and let's go. If this is successful, we might be able to reverse this entire thing" The woman smiled, watching as the armoured bodyguard put a piece of metal around the walker's head and tied it to the gnashing teeth, before uncuffing the monster and dragging it by the shoulder out. The walker feebly tried to claw at the armour, to no avail.

"Let's go, before I take anymore jewellery" The woman joked, leading the broad man out the back entrance.

* * *

"Winter! How long?!" Kris hollered, the weight of an inevitable attack weighing down on his shoulders.

"Right now!" Winter's shaking voice caused Kris' head to snap forward, seeing the 30 or so bandits march carelessly onto the front grass.

"Samuel! Get out here, now! I don't want this to get ugly!" The large man dressed in full black and a plain black ski-mask hollered.

"Go fuck yourself!" Sam snapped, his teeth bared as he aimed his gun at the leader.

"Ah, there you are Sammy boy! Come, let's talk about this civilly. See, I'm still a bit… how would you say, pissed off? Yeah, pissed off. I'm still pissed off that you stole from me and killed two of my best men!" The leader snarled, stopping a few meters away from the tables.

"You had it coming! The supplies were stolen, killed for! I couldn't keep my family there, I had no other choice!" Sam retorted, keeping his pistol aimed high.

"No other choice my ass! Either you get out here, or me and my guys are going to fucking torch this place and leave you and your two sluts to the walkers!" Sam's face shifted rapidly, so fast even Kris couldn't see the expression.

"Don't. you. dare speak about my family like that!" Sam roared, firing once and clipping the leader in the shoulder, throwing him to the ground. The man hit the ground with a painful thud, groaning in pain. The other bandits looked worriedly to each other, not sure what to do. The leader turned and noticed every one of his goons with their weapons holstered and glared every form of sharp object imaginable at them.

"The fuck are you twats waiting for? A big sign?! Shoot them!" The leader roared, snapping his men out of their trance. At once, they all drew their respective weapons and took aim at Sam, who ducked behind cover.

"NOW!" Kris roared, popping out from behind the table and firing at the bandits. The others followed in his footsteps, each of them shifting and firing from behind their own makeshift covers. The bandits, realising their mistake, all ducked and ran blindly, searching for any cover. This left them completely open, which was exploited. Kris and Jake worked in tandem. While one fired, the other reloaded. When the shooter ran out, they would duck down and the other would pop out, repeating that infinitely. Lily and Kenny did nothing similar, each standing next to each other and firing at the bandits. The lucky few who made cover peeked and fired at the group. The others were gunned down.

"Fuck. FALL BACK! The leader bellowed, pushing himself to his feet. The other bandits obliged, grabbing their weapons and retreating down the hill, save for one who was lying down behind cover, determined to get at least one person. The leader began limping away, but barely made a few meters away before a rifle shot blared, and a single round went through the leader's calf, throwing him painfully to the ground once again. A second, slightly quieter, shot rang out, and the same bandit that was hiding rolled out of cover, a single bullet through his head.

"Jake, grab him!" Kris hollered, watching the leader trying to crawl away.

"On it!" Jake ran fiercely, grabbing the leader by the shoulders and hauling him over his shoulder, before turning and nodding. Slowly, the rest of the survivors stepped out of cover.

"Damn, gold star for fucking everyone. Good work people" Kris complimented, smiling at the people around him.

"What should we do with him?" Jake questioned, motioning to the dying man on his shoulder.

"I got an idea" Kris grinned.

* * *

"YOU CRAZY FUCKS! LET GO OF ME NOW!" The leader bellowed, loud enough for anyone to hear. Kris' apparent idea was to walk the injured leader right to a walker.

"Woah, Kris. Chill, we still need info from him" Jake warned, grabbing his gun and pointing it at the walker.

"I know. I have a plan for that too" Kris grinned sadistically, dropping the man to the ground and sauntering over to the reanimated corpse. A swift kick to the knee dropped the walker to the ground, which was then followed by a boot to the head, crushing its skull. Carefully, Kris flipped the dead walker over, opening its mouth. Thankfully, a lot of the mouth was still mostly intact, which Kris took advantage of as he carefully used his knife to cut one of the walker's teeth out.

"See this right here? This is a walker tooth. This little thing contains the virus that makes you into a walker. When it bites into you, a small amount of the tooth chips off, releasing the virus into your blood. Holding the tooth is fine, just don't eat it. Well, try not to anyways" Kris grinned, grabbing the leader and picking him up.

"Now, either you are going to tell me exactly what I want to fucking hear, or you are going to enjoy a nice snack" Kris threatened lowly, holding the decayed tooth dangerously close to the leader's mouth.

"Jesus, Kris! Calm down!" Kenny called out, trying to break Kris free from his trance.

"I ain't telling you a damn thing!" The leader snapped nervously, sweat forming on his forehead.

"Strike one buddy. Two more and it's snack time" Kris warned, grabbing the injured man by the throat. His eyes began to pop out of his head, as his airflow was cut off.

"Y-you wouldn't actually force me to eat that right?" The leader croaked even more nervously, glancing at the other survivors in the vain hope one would help him.

"Try me dickstick. Are you going to talk?" Kris questioned threateningly, applying pressure on the leader's neck to force his mouth open.

"MM… FINE! I'll talk! Just get that damn tooth away from me!" The leader wailed in despair. Kris smiled and threw the tooth over to the corpse.

"Good, glad to see you wanted to help after all. So, tell me. Why did you find it fit to attack us?" Kris interrogated, forcing the broken man to the ground.

"Cause of your little friend there. Sam used to be just like us, then decided it was "morally wrong", killed two of my guys and stole our supplies. Too bad the idiots forgot about the Martolos, who robbed them blind a day later" The leader coughed, earning a death glare from Sam.

"So? The fuck do I care about that? You don't attack me, or my people. I don't give a damn if Sam is a convicted fucking murderer. If he's chill with me, I'm chill with him" Kris snapped, before kicking the injured man in the stomach.

"Listen man, I'm sure we can make a dea-" The leader tried to bargain, only to earn another swift kick in the chest.

"Nope. In all honesty, I have everything I wanted from you. You're alive right now because I don't have the effort to kill you. Now Sam here, he might be a different story" Kris grinned, motioning for Sam. Cautiously, the survivor obliged, moving slowly next to his companion. Without a word, Kris bent down and broke a piece of wood off the deck and handed it to Sam.

"We'll meet you inside" was all Kris said as he and Sam took the leader and dragged him away.

* * *

"Hey Jake, I need to talk to you…" Jake spun on the spot as he entered the cabin behind Kenny. He spotted Winter upstairs, motioning for him. Shrugging, he obliged and walked across the decked floor and made his way to the second story.

"What's up?" Jake asked, seeing Clementine asleep on the cot and immediately lowering his voice.

"It's the kid. Clementine. She's come down with something, and I don't think it's due to a normal illness" Winter explained, laying her hand on Clementine's head.

"Then what do you think it is?" Jake questioned in a hushed tone.

"I think its stress. I'm no doctor, but my mom was. She used to take me to work with her and I could watch the less intense things as she worked. And a few times, she had this old guy named Daniel come into the clinic and say he was feeling ill, but every time it was just stress" Winter explained, crouching next to the cot.

"Well… stress from what?" Jake looked at the state Clementine was in and felt immensely bad for the child. All of 12 and fighting for survival every day.

"I think it's from the constant fighting, y'know? And I don't mean just physical fighting" Winter answered.

"So, you're saying the group is causing this? She hasn't looked at all sick or in pain during the walk, or back in the truck" Jake pried, sitting down on a raggedy old cushion on the ground.

"I was talking to Kenny earlier, and he said this is the biggest group either of them has been in. He also explained her idea of groups isn't that good as both of her previous ones all died" Jake listened in silence as Winter explained the happenings of her first group, as well as Kenny's recount of the second group.

"So, everyone she's ever known has died… Damn" Jake sighed.

"Yeah, it's kind of tragic to be honest. Not only that, she apparently watched her guardian turn and saw her already dead parents wandering the streets of Savannah"

"The more you know I guess…" Jake sighed, laying his head against the wooden wall.

"So why are you telling me this then? Isn't this Kenny should know?" Jake asked.

"He already knows. Just seems like the kid likes you a lot, so I made sure you knew as well" Winter responded, smiling. Jake returned the smile and stared out the back window at the descending clouds. It looked like a storm was coming.

"…so, you're an upside downer?" Jake almost failed to hide the sudden laugh as he heard this.

"The fuck did you just call me?" Jake chuckled.

"An upside downer. Y'know, someone from Australia?" Winter shoved Jake slightly, pushing him off balance.

"On ya. Well yes, I am from Australia. Grew up in a town on the coast, meaning I wasn't in the middle of the outback. Was right near a major city too" Jake explained, sitting up and pulling a second cushion out and laying it in front of him.

"Good area?" Winter plopped down on the other cushion across from him.

"Yeah, it was. Central to a lot of things, though the kids. My god, the kids. I swear, you hit 13 and you lose any sense of "perhaps I shouldn't be a fuckwit"" Winter's giggles bounced around the room, surprisingly not waking the child a few meters away.

"Man, that's gotta suck" Winter replied.

"It really did. Though, in the city was a different story. Same hustle and bustle that you'd expect, but there was a massive like shopping centre in the middle of the city. There was even this really good bowling alley with laser-tag and karaoke" Jake explained further.

"I gotta say, Australia is sounding more and more interesting by the second" Winter sighed, still quietly laughing to herself.

"Hey, since I answered something for you, it's only fair I ask you something, too right?" Jake asked curiously, leaning back against the wall.

"Seems fair. Fire away, what do you want to know?" Winter shrugged, laying back on the floor.

"Why do you always prefer to be Winter? That can't be your real name, can it?" Jake noticed Winter's hands tense up for a moment before releasing.

"I guess I should tell someone. Just, promise me you won't laugh, or tell anyone else. I'm serious" Winter warned, sighing.

"You have my word. And that's a powerful thing; I don't go back on shit I say" Jake promised.

"Alright. In all honesty, my name isn't Winter. It's Hannah. I go by the name Winter because… well, it just seems right. I've always loved the snow, and skiing and shit. My dad used to take me all the time, every Christmas. We lived in the outskirts of Savannah, but never really went too far into the city, since Dad never liked the area. So instead, we'd travel outside of town to get groceries and shit. Mom used to criticise him for it, saying "You're too paranoid. Just go into town, it's easier than driving 20 miles out of town every Thursday for groceries". That used to get him riled up to no end. No matter how much he hated that city, or rather, cities in general, he'd always put it aside during winter, so we could go to my Grandma's. She used to live near some major city, I don't remember the name though. She lived in the suburbs and would always help me build snow men on Christmas Eve" Hannah explained, wiping a tear away.

"So that's why. Damn. Sorry if I opened any old wounds" Jake apologised, grabbing Hannah's hand and running his thumb over it soothingly.

"It's fine. I guess it's nice to finally get that off my chest" Hannah smiled, sitting up and facing Jake.

"Well, if you ever need someone to talk to, come find me" Jake offered.

"Thanks. Now c'mon. Let's go downstairs and leave Clem to sleep" Winter stood up and pulled Jake to his feet before walking quietly to the stairs and descending them, Jake in tow.

* * *

"Hey, where's Clem gone?" Kenny questioned openly to the others in the group, who were all huddled around the fire hoping for any kind of warmth.

"Upstairs, asleep. She was feeling ill, so I put her in the cot upstairs to sleep" Winter explained.

"She feeling alright?" Kenny questioned, moving towards the stairs.

"She's fine, just needs rest. She has a blanket and shit like that. It's from stress, she just needs to get a good nap in, and she'll be on her feet in no time" Jake answered.

"Fair enough. Anyone seen Kris? He's been out there with Sam a long time" Kenny asked, stepping away from the stairs.

"Haven't heard from him. I'll see if I can go find him" Jake shrugged, walking out of the room. The rest of the group sat still around the lodge, idly chatting and enjoying the moment of reprieve, calming down from the mass group of bandits they had encountered hours ago.

* * *

"Kris! You out here?!" Jake hollered, searching the exterior of the lodge for any sign of his companion.

"Over here" Jake rounded the corner and saw Kris leaning against the wall of the lodge.

"Where's Sam? It's getting late" Jake questioned.

"Went off into the forest for something. Just sorta told me to "wait here" so… yeah" Kris shrugged, flicking something in his hands.

"Wait, is that the knife you bought back before this all went down? I thought you lost that thing?" Jake finally noticed the object was in fact a sizeable knife, curved the entire way.

"It is actually. And before you ask, it's called a karambit. Cost me a damn fortune, but it was worth it. This thing still slices like the day I got it" Kris smiled, spinning the curved blade in his hands.

"That's because you-" Jake started, getting cut off by a cry emanating from the forest.

"Shit, was that Sam?!" Kris grabbed his knife, holding it ready to attack.

"Jesus, can we not catch a damn break?" Jake groaned, drawing his gun and motioning for Kris to follow. The two sprinted into the dense foliage, searching for Sam. Trees flew past, almost tripping the pair multiple times as they scoured the area.

"Sam! Sam, you out here?!" Jake hollered, ignoring the fact there could be walkers in the forest.

"S-Somebody help me!" Sam's voice rung out.

"Over there!" Kris pointed out, seeing Sam hiding inside an abandoned minivan as a group of walkers surrounded him.

"There's no way we can take that many on, not without making a whole lotta noise" Jake whispered, crouching down.

"What about that thing Winter went on about? The guts? If we can get one alone, we can do that and get the rest of them silently" Kris realized, scanning immediately for a lone walker.

"That one over there is all alone" Jake pointed out, seeing a lone walker lumbering towards the group.

"I'll get him" Kris nodded, then slunk away in the tree-line, moving towards the walker. Once he was a few meters away, he stood up and threw a rock at the walker. It bounced harmlessly off the decayed beast's head, but it did the job and got the walker's attention. The monster growled hungrily, forgetting the trapped survivor and instead hobbled over to the trees, where it was grabbed and immediately killed.

"Oh, fuck me…" Kris gagged in the distance, using his knife to slit open the walker's stomach. The smell hit him immediately and he turned around and vomited, before grabbing a handful of the rancid entrails and smearing them across his body. Once he was completely covered from head to toe, he nodded to Jake, who nodded back and aimed his rifle at the group in case they turned on Kris. Without a word, Kris crept out of the thick foliage into the clearing, keeping crouched with his bloodied knife ready to deal with the undead monsters. None of the walkers seemed to pay him any mind as he got close behind them and began clearing them out with ease. Corpse after corpse fell, until the van was rid of the dead.

"Shit, thanks man" Sam huffed, climbing out of the van.

"What were you doing out here alone Sam?! You could've gotten yourself killed!" Jake questioned, holstering his rifle.

"I came out here to calm down mostly. I was still pissed off at Brian for attacking us, so I decided to come out here and get some fresh air, so I didn't go back in a raging mess" Sam responded.

"You should've come and got me, I would've come with you. I did some work experience at a psychologist's office, I know a few things about helping people to calm down and all that" Kris offered.

"I'll keep note of that. Now c'mon, we should get back to the group"

* * *

 ***A.N.**

 **My god I'm horrible at this. So, uh, hey everyone. No, I'm not exactly dead. I'm still here, just took an… extended vacation. And by that, I mean I forgot completely to do anything. I do apologise for this. I know it's a shitty excuse, and this chapter is much shorter than it should be. But in reality, I really couldn't think of much to fill this chapter after the incident in the forest. I'll try my hardest to get you guys a longer chapter next time around, but for now this'll have to do. Also, to answer a few things;**

 **The thing with the truck. I'll agree, it was dumb, but at the time I thought it had some plausibility.**

 **The thing about me having no clue, yeah, ill admit its quite true. This is my first time around writing fanfictions and even now, it's pathetic. So, my b, I guess.**

 **I'm not going to bother asking for anything here. I'll try to have another chapter soon, but I can't promise anything. Just don't behead me please, there's always room for improvement, right?**

 **~ Exfinty**


	11. Chapter 11

"Ma'am, you need to get some sleep" A stoic voice resounded, emanating from the burly guard leaning near the door.

"I don't need any damn sleep Max. I slept enough yesterday" The young woman snapped, leaning drowsily against an old wooden desk.

"You slept for two hours yesterday Maddie. You need to stop working and go sleep. You can pick it up again tomorrow" Max replied calmly.

"B-But I'm so close! I've found a way to-" Maddie tried to argue, only to get cut off.

"Mads, if you keep working, you'll be too worked up on finishing to check everything. I don't care how close you are, go get some sleep. Wake up tomorrow and look at your work with fresh eyes" Max reasoned.

"… fine. You can be really annoying when you want to be" Maddie grumbled, sitting up and walking out of the small laboratory.

"If it keeps you healthy, so be it" Max shrugged, leading the woman to her room.

"Now, get some sleep. I'll come get you tomorrow morning and escort you back to the lab" Max smiled, closing the door behind him as Maddie rolled her eyes. She quickly stripped out of her lab gear and threw a set of sleepwear on before sliding into her bed, forgoing the thick woollen blanket and instead opting to sleep on top.

"It'll work… it has to…" Maddie whispered to herself before sleep took over.

* * *

"Alrighty everyone, up and at em! We got a big day ahead of us!" Kenny's voice carried over the lodge, rousing everyone from where they slept. Most people were asleep on the couches or on beds, save for the two Australian boys, who for whatever reason decided sleeping on the tables would be more comfortable.

"It's too fucking early to be waking up…" Jake grumbled, rubbing his head.

"It's nearly noon" Kenny smirked.

"Still too early" Jake groaned once again, before sitting up and stretching his aching back.

"We had extra beds, you guys could've slept on one of those, you realise that right" Kenny chuckled, seeing the dirty glare from Kris.

"Believe me, I tried those beds of yours. These tables were more comfortable, even if they're wooden pieces of shit" Kris grumbled, having a similar hard start in the morning.

"Quit your moaning and get up. We're leaving in half an hour" The two groaned, before both getting off the tables and walking away towards the kitchen. Most of the group was busy packing what supplies they had into an assortment of bags, while a few cleared up the area to make it seem as though no-one was here.

"Dad? Are we going to eat before we go?" Jen piped up, her stomach rumbling slightly.

"You guys think we have time for breakfast?" Sam asked openly.

"We aren't on a schedule or anything, there's no rush" Kris shrugged, grabbing a can of peaches out of a large duffel bag and placing the rest on one of the tables alongside a knife.

"Get a feed in while we're here. We got a long trek waiting for us" Kris shouted, before walking outside with his can.

"He ok?" Kenny asked of Jake, who simply shrugged.

"He's a farm boy. He always eats outdoors, at least when he can" Jake explained, grabbing a can of beans for himself and following his friend out the door. Kenny rolled his eyes at this, before deciding it was best to leave the two alone, and simply opted to sit down and enjoy his food.

* * *

Jake let the door softly shut behind him as he stepped out of the lodge, his eyes adjusting to the still rising sun. He spotted Kris sitting on the railing in front of him and walked up behind the other man. He hopped the ledge and sat down, adjusting his footing to hold himself up.

"I'll tell you what; I may have been in the city for the last couple years, but nothing beats the tranquillity of a quiet sunrise" Kris sighed, eating a spoonful of peaches.

"Can't argue with that. Mind if I borrow your knife?" Kris quickly spun the blade out of its sheath and handed the curved blade to the man, who accepted it happily.

"Hey, I was thinking…" Kris started, before hesitating.

"Thinking about what?" Jake asked through a mouthful of beans, earning a chuckle from the other survivor.

"About the group. Like, what's gonna happen when we reach this "settlement" everyone's on about?" Jake pondered for a second, before shrugging.

"I don't know man, I really don't know" Kris sighed at his response.

"Well, from what I know, Sam and Randy are staying with their families. And as much as I want to join them, I don't think it's safe to be in one place for too long" Kris reasoned.

"I know, but we may as well stay for a few days, right? Get back on our feet, get some food and water before we get back on the road" Jake explained.

"Then what? Just the two of us, off on an expedition again? Jake, we barely survived making it to that hardware store" Kris whispered.

"Well, you said Randy and Sam are staying. I'm sure Kenny will probably go with us, same as Clementine. Not to mention Winter" Jake reasoned.

"I guess…" Kris sighed, eating the last spoonful of peaches and tossing the can out at a bandit corpse. Jake's can followed soon after.

"C'mon, we'll work this out later. Let's get on the road first"

* * *

"Alright everyone, gather around!" Kris called out, dragging everyone over to the table near them. Once everyone was seated, he continued: "Now, from here is all uncharted territory. Once we leave here, I don't know where we'll go"

"I know where to go" Clementine piped up.

"Really?" Kris asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, when I came here the first time with my last group, we came from a cabin about 5 days away" Everyone's heart sunk to hear this.

"Did you find anything else… I don't know, closer on the way here?" Kenny asked.

"Nu-uh. There's a few good areas for camping out, but no buildings. At least if we take the forest way" Clementine shot down.

"Well, 5 days trek isn't too bad. Once we reach that cabin, is there anything good in the area?" Kris asked, facing towards the map.

"There's a river nearby, that's about it" Clementine recalled.

"Alright, what about after that?" Jake asked this time.

"Well, from what I know, it's about a 2-week journey to a small rest stop near Savannah, then another 2 or so weeks to the city, and that's being generous" Clementine explained.

"Wait, weren't you with Christa for a few months Clem?" Kenny questioned.

"Actually, we never really moved that fast. We constantly took breaks because of Christa's pregnancy. After about a month or two, we reached a rest stop. That's where we lost Omid. After we left, Christa lost her baby and was too depressed and tired to move fast" Clem explained solemnly.

"Sorry to hear that Clem" Jake smiled lightly.

"Thanks…" Clem mumbled.

"Well, now that we have that settled, next comes something marginally important" Kris sighed.

"Now Kris?" Jake whispered.

"Yes, now. I'm not going all that way to just turn around" Kris whispered back.

"Here's the run down. Jake and I discussed, and this will be our final stop. We aren't going to Savannah, we're heading out east, through Mississippi and beyond" Kris explained.

"Wait, for real? You're just gonna up and leave, just like that?" Kenny questioned.

"I looked over some files and notes in that hardware store. There's a settlement in the city, supposedly. 'Crawford' or something like that" Kris explained. Clementine and Kenny both heard this and immediately looked at each other with a worried expression.

"Crawford. That's the place we were headed" Randy explained.

"Well, that's a bad idea then…" Kenny muttered.

"How so?" Patricia wondered aloud.

"Because Clem n I have been to Crawford. It was months ago" Kenny explained grimly.

"S-So we were chasing something that doesn't exist?" Sam asked.

"That we have. The entire place is picked clean, nothing will be left" Kenny sighed.

"Well, what do we do then? We've come all this way and the one thing we needed is gone" Randy sighed defeatedly.

"Well, there's a few places marked on this map that the previous leader must've seen as a good location for a 'forward operating base'" Kris explained, unrolling a thick paper map from his backpack.

"That's Crawford there, by the riverside. There's a train by the outskirts, we can probably take it out of the city if need be" Kenny pointed out.

"We could take the train and find somewhere to set up shop" Randy noted.

"Sounds good. Alright, everyone ready to head out?" Jake asked this time.

"Actually, I need to speak to Clementine alone for a moment" Kenny piped up. Confused, Clementine followed as Kenny wandered away from the group, still clutching a sleeping AJ.

"What's wrong?" Clementine asked once they were a fair distance away.

"Well, if I'm being honest, I think I'm agreeing with Kris' idea. It might be best if we went with them" Kenny sighed.

"But what about Savannah? That train could really help us!" Clementine shouted.

"I know darlin'. But, well, I think it's best if we avoid that direction. We've already been down that track, and we know there's nothing there. And I don't think I can go back there knowing my wife and son are out there somewhere in the forest, probably eaten by a stray walker" Kenny grimaced.

"But…" Clementine couldn't think of a reply, instead nodding.

"Everything alright Kenny?" Kris called out.

"Yeah, everything's fine" Kenny called back. The two returned to the group silently, Clementine looking down at the ground.

"Well, guys. Seems this is it. Me and Clem ain't going to Savannah, we're going with Kris and heading out eastward" Kenny announced.

"Are you sure Kenny? You can't guarantee you'll find anything that way" Lily warned.

"Better than reliving the nightmare of that city. Sorry y'all, but it just aint happening" Kenny sighed.

"Well, I'm going to Savannah. If there's a chance of a safe haven for my family, I cant pass that up" Randy announced.

"Same here. Especially with Sarah and Jen to take care of, I can't risk it" Sam explained glumly.

"Well, that leaves Lily and Winter to decide" Kris glanced over to the women who had stood off to the sidelines during the entire planning situation.

"Personally, I want to go with Randy's group. I think it'd be better to find a safe haven than continue this strenuous scavenging life" Lily moved towards Randy's group, standing to the side.

"So, that leaves you Winter. What's your choice?" Winter stood rigidly, eyeing down both groups. She looked torn, staring intently at both groups, trying to make a decision.

"I… I'm going with Kenny. I don't trust Savannah in the slightest" Winter sighed, glancing up to Lily.

"Are you sure Winter?" Lily asked softly, staring on at her companion.

"I'm sure. You guys will be fine" Winter smiled warmly, moving over to Kenny's group.

"Well, I guess it's settled then." Kenny lugged two large duffel bags off a nearby table, handing one to Kris.

"There's two more behind me. It's got enough supplies to last you till Savannah. And good luck, you'll need it" Randy thanked the other group, lugging one bag over his shoulder. The two looked on at each other, before shaking hands and leading both groups out the door.

"Hey, Kris. I need to talk to you" Sam piped up as soon as both groups had exited the lodge.

"Sure" Kris shrugged, following the failed bandit around the back of the lodge.

"Good luck you lot. If Savannah doesn't work out, you're welcome to come find us" Jake noted, smirking.

"Same to you guys. And Winter, please. Be careful" Lily warned, embracing the younger survivor.

"I will. Don't be going crazy on me, ok? And if I find out you died in Savannah, I'm going to find you, bring you back to life then kill you myself" Winter grinned cheekily, losing her balance as Lily shoved her.

"Whatever. Get out of here, before I drag you to Savannah with me" Lily smiled, watching Winter pick herself up. The two laughed, forgetting momentarily they were both leaving.

"Alright guys, it's about time we get going" Kris announced, standing next to Jake.

"Kris is right. If we don't leave now, we aren't going to leave for a while" Randy sighed, giving the other group one last lookover.

"Well, I'm no good with goodbyes. So, uh, don't die?" Jake chuckled at Kris' blunt answer, smiling.

"We'll try. Let's hope our paths cross in the future" Maria smiled, having been quiet the entire time.

"C'mon, let's go" Kenny led the group away, leaving Randy to lead the others the opposite direction, Kris' words echoing in his mind.

'' _ **Don't die…**_ _''_

* * *

 ***A.N.**

 **Yeah yeah, I know. I took a long time to update. Again. I swear, my update schedule is more consistent than a wonky line. Anywho, this chapter is noticeably shorter than normal, purely because I didn't want to shove too much down your throats at once.**

 **So, the groups split up. It was a decision I mulled over for quite a while, but ultimately decided to go with, due to the fact I introduced too many characters too fast. I had a group of like 13 or something dumb like that, and I was constantly forgetting that characters existed.**

 **So, the groups.**

 **East-bound Group: Kenny, Kris, Jake, Winter, Clementine, AJ**

 **Savannah-Bound Group: Randy, Patricia, Sam, Jen, Sara, Jerome, Maria, Gill, Lily**

 **Don't think though I'm going to ignore the groups for too long. The focus will be on the east-bound group, but I do plan to put snippets of the other group in here and there. However, with everything happening with school, personal issues and other commitments, I may take a bit to upload new chapters. I am trying though, don't worry.**

 **Enjoy life I guess?**

 **~ Exfinity**


End file.
